•tilliliilrilii'llliuiiiiitliiii 


T  II  E 

TRUE    REPUBLICAN: 

CONTAINING  THE 

INAUGURAL    ADDRESSES, 

TOGETHER  WITH  THE 

FIRST  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES  AND  MESSAGES 

OF  ALL  THE  PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED    STATES,  FROM  1789  TO  1845; 
TOGETHER     WITH      THEIR 

FAREWELL    ADDRESSES, 

AND  ILLUSTRATED  WITH  THE 

PORTRAIT  OF  EACH  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

TO  WHICH  IS   ANNEXED  THE 

UKCLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE  AND  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES,  WITH  THE  AMENDMENTS  AND  SIGNERS'  NAMES. 

ALSO,  THE 

CONSTITUTIONS  OF  MANY  OF  THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  STATES  IN 
THE      UNION. 


BY  JONATHAN  FRENCH. 


PHILADELPHIA  : 
PUBLISHED   BY   W.  A.  LEARY. 


1847. 


1 — 


30/ 
75 


[Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1841,  by  D.  RICHABDSON, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  in  and  for  the 
Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania.] 


Printed  by  JOHN  H.  GIHON, 
113  Chesnut  street. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Declaration  of  Independence,  -                     5 

Washington's  Inaugural  Address,  10 

Washington's  First  Annual  Address,  -       14 

Washington's  Farewell  Address,  17 

Adams'  Inaugural  Address,  -            -            -      34 

Adams'  First  Annual  Message,     -  40 

Jefferson's  Inaugural  Address,  -             -            -       46 

Jefferson's  First  Annual  Message,  52 

Madison's  Inaugural  Address,  -       61 

Madison's  First  Annual  Message,  64 

Monroe's  Inaugural  Address,  -             -             -       69 

Monroe's  First  Annual  Message,  78 

J.  Q.  Adams'  Inaugural  Address,  -                          -      91 

J.  Q.  Adams'  First  Annual  Message,       -  99 

Jackson's  Inaugural  Address,  -            -     134 

Jackson's  First  Annual  Message,  .           127 

Jackson's  Farewell  Address,  -            -     155 

Van  Buren's  Inaugural  Address,  .           178 

Van  Buren's  First  Annual  Message,  -            -     188 

Harrison's  Inaugural  Address,     -  -          220 

Tyler's  Address,        -  .                  242 

Tyler's  First  Message,     -  247 

Folk's  Inaugural  Address,     -  263 

Constitution  of  the  United  States,  (APPENDIX.)               5 

Constitution  of  Massachusetts,  21 

Constitution  of  New  York,   -  -            -            -      57 

Constitution  of  New  Jersey,        -  -            -            90 

Constitution  of  Pennsylvania,  -                              111 

Constitution  of  Virginia,  -            -            128 

Constitution  of  South  Carolina,  ...     143 

Constitution  of  Ohio,     -  -                          158 

Constitution  of  Kentucky,    -  176 


M130118 


THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 


DECLARATION   OF   INDEPENDENCE. 

WHEN,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes 
necessary  for  one  people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands 
which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to  assume, 
among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal 
station  to  which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God 
entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  mankind 
requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which  impel 
them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men 
are  created  equal;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator 
with  certain  unalienable  rights ;  that  among  these  are  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That,  to  secure 
these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men,  deri 
ving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed; 
and  that,  whenever  any  form  of  government  becomes  de 
structive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to 
alter  or  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  new  government,  laying 
its  foundations  on  such  principles,  and  organizing  its 
powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely  to 
effect  their  safety  and  happiness.  Prudence,  indeed,  will 
dictate  that  governments,  long  established,  should  not  be 
changed  for  light  and  transient  causes;  and,  accordingly, 
all  experience  hath  shown,  that  mankind  are  more  disposed 
to  suffer,  while  evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right  them 
selves  by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which  they  are  accus 
tomed.  But,  when  a  long  train  of  abuses  and  usurpa 
tions,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  object,  evinces  a  de 
sign  to  reduce  them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their 
right,  it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off  such  government,  and 
to  provide  new  guards  for  their  future  security.  Such 
has  been  the  patient  sufferance  of  the  colonies,  and  such 
1* 


6  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

is  now  the  necessity  which  constrains  them  to  alter  their 
former  systems  of  government.  The  history  of  the  pre 
sent  king  of  Great  Britain  is  a  history  of  repeated  injuries 
and  usurpations,  all  having,  in  direct  object,  the  establish 
ment  of  an  absolute  tyranny  over  these  states.  To  prove 
this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid  world: 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome 
and  necessary  for  the  public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  imme 
diate  and  pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in  their 
operations  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained;  and,  when 
so  suspended,  he  has  utterly  neglected  to  attend  to  them 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommodation 
of  large  districts  of  people,  unless  those  people  would  re 
linquish  the  right  of  representation  in  the  legislature;  a 
right  inestimable  to  them,  and  formidable  to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  un 
usual,  uncomfortable,  and  distant  from  the  repository  of 
their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing 
them  into  compliance  with  his  measures. 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly,  for 
opposing  with  manly  firmness,  his  invasions  on  the  righ's 
of  the  people. 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions, 
to  cause  others  to  be  elected;  whereby  the  legislative  pow 
ers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  have  returned  to  the  peo 
ple  at  large  for  their  exercise ;  the  state  remaining,  in  the 
mean  time,  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  invasion  from 
without,  and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these 
states ;  for  that  purpose,  obstructing  the  laws  of  naturali 
zation  of  foreigners,  refusing  to  pass  others  to  encourage 
their  migration  thither,  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new 
appropriations  of  lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by  re 
fusing  his  assent  to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 

He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone,  for 
the  tenure  of  their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment 
of  their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent 
hither  swarms  of  oilers  to  harass  our  people,  and  eat 
out  their  substance. 


DECLARATION  OF    INDEPENDENCE.  7 

He  has  kept  among  us  in  time  of  peace,  standing  ar* 
mies,  without  the  consent  of  our  legislatures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of, 
and  superior  to,  the  civil  power. 

He  has  combined,  with  others,  to  subject  us  to  a  juris 
diction  foreign  to  our  constitution,  and  unacknowledged 
by  our  laws ;  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of  pretended 
legislation. 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us. 

For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  trial,  from  punishment 
for  any  murders  which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhabi 
tants  of  these  states. 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world. 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent. 

For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefit  of  trial 
by  jury. 

For  transporting  us  beyond  seas  to  be  tried  for  pre 
tended  offences: 

For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a 
neighboring  province,  establishing  therein  an  arbitrary 
government,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries  so  as  to  render 
it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing 
the  same  absolute  rule  into  these  colonies : 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  va 
luable  laws,  and  altering,  fundamentally,  the  forms  of  our 
governments  : 

For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  declaring 
themselves  invested  with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all 
cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring  us 
out  of  his  protection,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burnt 
our  towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is,  at  this  time,  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign 
mercenaries  to  complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation, 
and  tyranny,  already  begun,  with  circumstances  of  cru 
elty  and  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous 
ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive 
on  the  high  seas,  to  bear  arms  against  their  country,  to 
become  the  executioners  of  their  friends  and  brethren, 
or  to  fall  themselves  bv  their  hands 


8  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrections  amongstus,  and 
has  endeavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  iron- 
tiers,  the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known  rule  of 
warfare  is  an  undistinguished  destruction  of  all  ages, 
sexes,  and  conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions,  \ve  have  petitioned 
for  redress  in  the  most  humble  terms.  Our  repeated 
petitions  have  been  answered  only  by  repeated  injury.  A 
prince,  whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act  which 
may  define  a  tyrant,  is  unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  free  people. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  attention  to  our  British 
brethren.  We  have  warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of 
the  attempts  by  their  legislature,  to  extend  an  unwar 
rantable  jurisdiction  over  us.  We  have  reminded  them 
of  the  circumstances  of  our  emigration  and  settlement 
here.  We  have  appealed  to  their  native  justice  and  mag 
nanimity,  and  we  have  conjured  them,  by  the  ties  of  our 
common  kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpations,  which 
would  inevitably  interrupt  our  connections  and  corres 
pondence.  They,  too,  have  been  deaf  to  the  voice  of 
justice  and  of  consanguinity.  We  must,  therefore,  ac 
quiesce  in  the  necessity  which  denounces  our  separation, 
and  hold  them  as  we  hold  the  rest  of  mankind,  enemies 
in  war,  in  peace,  friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  in  General  Congress  assembled,  appealing 
to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for  the  rectitude  of 
our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name,  and  by  the  authority  of 
the  good  people  of  these  colonies,  solemnly  publish  and 
declare  that  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought 
to  be,  free  and  independent  States ;  that  they  are  absolv 
ed  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all 
political  connection  between  them  and  the  state  of  Great 
Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved;  and  that, 
as  free  and  independent  States,  they  have  full  power  to 
levy  war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish 
commerce,  and  to  do  all  other  acts  and  things  which  in 
dependent  States  may  of  right  do.  And,  for  the  support 
of  this  declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance  on  the  protection 
of  Divine  Providence,  we  mutually  pledge  to  each  other 
our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  sacred  honor. 


DECLARATION  OF    INDEPENDENCE. 


The  foregoing  declaration,  was,  by  order  of  r-ongresa 
engrossed,  and  signed  by  the  following  members: 


JOHN  HANCOCK. 


New  Hampshire. 
JOSIAH  BARTLETT, 
WILLIAM  WHIPPLE, 
MATTHEW  THORNTON. 

Massachusetts  Buy, 
SAMUEL  ADAMS, 
JOHN  ADAMS, 
ROBERT  TREAT  PAINE, 
ELBRIDGE  GERRY. 

Rhode  Island. 
STEPHEN  HOPKINS, 
WILLIAM  ELLERY. 

Connecticut. 
ROGER  SHERMAN, 
SAMUEL  HUNTINGTON, 
WILLIAM  WILLIAMS, 
OLIVER  WOLCOTT. 

New  York. 
WILLIAM  FLOYD, 
PHILIP  LIVINGSTON, 
FRANCIS  LEWIS, 
LEWIS  MORRIS. 

New  Jersey. 
RICHARD  STOCKTON, 
JOHN  WTITHERSPOON, 
FRANCIS  HOPKINSON, 
JOHN  HART, 
ABRAHAM  CLARK. 

Pennsylvania. 
ROBERT  MORRIS, 
BENJAMIN  RUSH, 
BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN, 
JOHN  MORTON, 
GEORGE  CLYMER, 
JAMKS  SMITH, 


GEORGE  TAYLOR, 
JAMES  WILSON, 
GEORGE  Ross. 

Delaware. 
C^SAR  RODNEY, 
GEORGE  READ, 
THOMAS  M'KEAN. 

Maryland. 
SAMUEL  CHASE, 
WILLIAM  PACA, 
THOMAS  STONE, 
CHARLES  CARROLL,  of 
Carrollton. 

Virginia. 
GEORGE  WYTHE, 
RICHARD  HENRY  LEE, 
THOMAS  JEFFERSON, 
BENJAMIN  HARRISON, 
THOMAS  NELSON,  Jr. 
FRANCIS  LIGHTFOOT  LEE 
CARTER  BRAXTON. 

North  Carolina 
WILLIAM  HOOPER, 
JOSEPH  HEWES, 
JOHN  PENN. 

South  Carolina 
EDWARD  RUTLEDGE, 
THOMAS  HEY  WARD,  Jr. 
THOMAS  LYNCH,  Jr. 
ARTHUR  MIDDLETON. 

Georgia. 

BUTTON  GWINNETT, 
LYMAN  HALL, 
GEORGE  WALTON. 


10  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

WASHINGTON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS, 
APRIL  30,  1789. 


Fellow-Citizens  of  the  Senate 

and  House  of  Representatives  : 

Among  the  vicissitudes  incident  to  life,  no  event  could 
have  filled  me  with  greater  anxieties  than  that  of  which 
the  notification  was  transmitted  by  your  order,  and  re 
ceived  on  the  14th  day  of  the  present  month.  On  the  one 
hand,  I  was  summoned  by  my  country,  whose  voice  I  can 
never  hear  but  with  veneration  and  love,  from  a  retreat 
which  I  had  chosen  with  the  fondest  predilection,  and,  in 
my  flattering  hopes,  with  an  immutable  decision,  as  the 
asylum  of  my  declining  years,  a  re  treat  which  was  ren 
dered  every  day  more  necessary  as  well  as  more  dear  to 
me  by  the  addition  of  habit  to  inclination,  and  of  frequent 
interruptions  in  my  health,  to  the  gradual  waste  committed 
on  it  by  time.  On  the  ether  hand,  the  magnitude  and 
difficulty  of  the  trust  to  which  the  voice  of  my  country 
called  me,  being  sufficient  to  awaken  in  the  wisest  and 
most  experienced  of  her  citizens  a  distrustful  scrutiny 
into  his  qualifications,  could  not  but  overwhelm  with  de 
spondence,  one,  who,  inheriting  inferior  endowments  from 
nature,  and  unpractised  in  the  duties  of  civil  administra 
tion,  ought  to  be  peculiarly  conscious  of  his  own  defi- 
ciences.  In  this  conflict  of  emotions,  all  that  I  dare  aver 
is,  that  it  has  been  my  faithful  study  to  collect  my  duty 
from  a  just  appreciation  of  every  circumstance  by  which 
it  might  be  effected.  All  I  dare  hope  is,  that  if  in  execu 
ting  this  task  I  have  been  too  much  swayed  by  a  grateful 
remembrance  of  former  instances,  or  by  an  affectionate 
sensibility  to  this  transcendent  proof  of  the  confidence  of 
my  fellow-citizens,  and  have  thence  too  little  consulted 
my  incapacity  as  well  as  disinclination  for  the  weighty 
and  untried  cares  before  me,  my  error  will  be  palliated  by 
the  motives  which  misled  me,  and  its  consequences  be 
judged  by  my  country  with  some  share  ot  the  partiality 
with  which  they  originated. 


WASHINGTON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  1 1 

Sucli  being  the  impressions  under  which  I  have,  in  obe 
dience  to  the  public  summons,  repaired  to  the  present 
station,  it  would  be  peculiarly  improper  to  omit,  in  this 
first  official  act,  my  fervent  supplications  to  that  Almighty 
Being  who  rules  over  the  universe — who  presides  in  the 
councils  of  nations — and  whose  providential  aids  can 
supply  every  human  defect,  that  his  benediction  may  con 
secrate  to  the  liberties  and  happiness  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States- a  government  instituted  by  themselves  for 
these  essential  purposes,  and  may  enable  every  instrumeni 
employed  in  its  administration  to  execute  with  success  the 
functions  allotted  to  his  charge.  In  tendering  this  ho 
mage  to  the  great  Author  of  every  public  and  private  good, 
I  assure  myself  that  it  expresses  your  sentiments  not  less 
than  my  own,  nor  those  of  my  fellow-citizens  at  large, 
less  than  either.  No  people  can  be  bound  to  acknow 
ledge  and  adore  the  invisible  Hand  which  conducts  the 
affairs  of  men,  more  than  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
Every  step  by  which  they  have  advanced  to  the  character 
of  an  independent  nation  seems  to  have  been  distinguished 
by  some  token  of  providential  agency;  and  in  the  impor 
tant  revolution  just  accomplished  in  the  system  of  their 
united  government,  the  tranquil  deliberations  and  voluntary 
consent  of  so  many  distinct  communities,  from  which  the 
event  has  resulted,  cannot  be  compared  with  the  means 
by  which  most  governments  have  been  established,  with 
out  some  return  of  pious  gratitude,  along  with  an  humble 
anticipation  of  the  future  blessings  which  the  past  seems 
to  presage.  These  reflections,  arising  out  of  the  present 
crisis,  have  forced  themselves  too  strongly  on  my  mind  to 
be  suppressed.  You  will  join  with  me,  I  trust,  in  think 
ing  that  there  are  none  under  the  influence  of  which  the 
proceedings  of  a  new  and  free  government  can  more 
auspiciously  commence. 

By  the  article  establishing  the  executive  department,  tt 
is  made  the  duty  of  the  President  "to  recommend  to 
your  consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge  ne 
cessary  and  expedient."  The  circumstances  under  which 
I  now  meet  you  will  acquit  me  from  entering  into  that 
subject  farther  than  to  refer  to  the  great  constitutional 
charter  under  which  you  are  assembled,  and  which,  in 


18  THE  TRUE   REPUBLICAN. 

defining  your  powers,  designates  the  objects  to  which  your 
attention  is  to  be  given.  It  will  be  more  consistent  with 
those  circumstances,  and  far  more  congenial  with  the 
feelings  which  actuate  me,  to  substitute,  in  place  of  a 
recommendation  of  particular  measures,  the  tribute  that  is 
due  to  the  talents,  the  rectitude,  and  the  patriotism  which 
aclorn  the  characters  selected  to  devise  and  adopt  them. 
In  these  honorable  qualifications  I  behold  the  surest  pledges 
that,  as  on  one  side,  no  local  prejudices  on  attachments, 
no  separate  views  nor  party  animosities,  will misdirectthe 
comprehensive  and  equal  eye  which  ought  to  watch  over 
this  great  assemblage  of  communities  and  interests:  so, 
on  another,  that  the  foundations  of  our  national  policy  will 
be  laid  in  the  pure  and  immutable  principles  of  private 
morality;  and  the  pre-eminence  of  free  government  be 
exemplified  by  all  the  attributes  which  can  win  the  affec 
tions  of  its  citizens,  and  command  the  respect  of  the 
world.  I  dwell  on  this  prospect  with  every  satisfaction 
which  an  ardent  love  for  my  country  can  inspire,  since 
there  is  no  truth  more  thoroughly  established  than  that 
there  exists  in  the  economy  and  course  of  nature  an  in 
dissoluble  union  between  virtue  and  happiness,  between 
duty  and  advantage;  between  the  genuine  maxims  of  an 
honest  and  magnanimous  policy  and  the  solid  rewards  of 
public  prosperity  and  felicity  ;  since  we  ought  to  be  no 
less  persuaded  that  the  propitious  smiles  of  Heaven  can 
never  be  expected  on  a  nation  that  disregards  the  eternal 
rules  of  order  and  right  which  Heaven  itself  has  ordained, 
and  since  the  preservation  of  the  sacred  fire  of  liberty,  and 
the  destiny  of  the  republican  model  of  government,  are 
justly  considered  as  deeply, perhaps  as  finally  staked  on  the 
experiment  intrusted  to  the  hands  of  the  American  people. 
Besides  the  ordinary  objects  submitted  to  your  care,  it 
will  remain  with  your  judgment  to  decide  how  far  an  ex 
ercise  of  the  occasional -power  delegated  by  the  fifth  arti 
cle  of  the  constitution  is  rendered  expedient  at  the  pre 
sent  juncture  by  the  nature  of  the  objections  which  have 
been  urged  against  the  system,  or  by  the  degree  of  in 
quietude  which  has  given  birth  to  them.  Instead  of  un 
dertaking  particular  recommendations  on  this  subject,  in 
which  I  could  be  guided  by  no  lights  derived  from  offi- 


WASHINGTON  S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  13 

cial  opportunities,  I  shall  again  give  way  to  my  entire 
confidence  in  your  discernment  and  pursuit  of  the  public 
good ;  for  1  assure  myself  that  while  you  carefully  avoid 
every  alteration  which  might  endanger  the  benefits  of  a 
united  and  effective  government,  or  which  ought  to  await 
the  future  lessons  of  experience,  a  reverence  for  the  cha 
racteristic  rights  of  freemen,  and  a  regard  for  the  pub 
lic,  harmony,  will  sufficiently  influence  your  deliberations 
on  the  question  how  far  the  former  can  be  more  impreg- 
nably  fortified,  or  the  latter  be  safely  and  advantageously 
promoted. 

To  the  preceding  observations  I  have  one  to  add,  which 
will  be  most  properly  addressed  to  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives.  It  concerns  myself,  and  will  therefore  be  as 
brief  as  possible.  When  I  was  first  honored  with  a  call 
into  the  service  of  my  country,  then  on  the  eve  of  an  ar 
duous  struggle  for  its  liberties,  the  light  in  which  I  con 
templated  my  duty  required  that  I  should  renounce  every 
pecuniary  compensation.  From  this  resolution  I  have  in 
no  instance  departed;  and  being  still  under  the  impres 
sions  which  produced  it,  I  must  decline,  as  inapplicable 
to  myself,  any  share  in  the  personal  emoluments  which 
may  be  indispensably  included  in  a  permanent  provision 
for  the  executive  department,  and  must  accordingly  pray 
that  the  pecuniary  estimates  for  the  station  in  which  I 
am  placed,  may,  during  my  continuance  in  it,  be  limited 
to  such  actual  expenditures  as  the  public  good  may  be 
thought  to  require. 

Having  thus  imparted  to  you  my  sentiments  as  they 
have  been  awakened  by  the  occasion  which  brings  us 
together,  I  shall  take  my  present  leave,  but  not  without 
resorting  once  more  to  the  benign  Parent  of  the  human 
race,  in  humble  supplication  that,  since  he  has  been 
pleased  to  favor  the  American  people  with  opportunities 
for  deliberating  in  perfect  tranquillity  and  dispositions  for 
deciding  with  unparalleled  unanimity  on  a  form  of  govern 
ment  for  the  security  of  their  union  and  the  advancement 
of  their  happiness,  so  his  divine  blessing  may  be  equally 
conspicuous  in  the  enlarged  views,  the  temperate  consul 
tations,  and  the  wise  measures  on  which  the  success  of 
this  government  must  depend. 
2 


14  THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  ADDRESS, 
JANUARY  8,  1790. 

Fellow- Citizens  of  the  Senate 

and  House  of  Representatives : 

I  embrace  with  great  satisfaction  the  opportunity  which 
now  presents  itself  of  congratulating  you  on  the  present 
favorable  prospects  of  our  public  affairs.  The  recent  ac 
cession  of  the  important  state  of  North  Carolina  to  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States,  (of  which  official  in 
formation  has  been  received,)  the  rising  credit  and  re 
spectability  of  our  country,  the  general  and  increasing 
good  will  towards  the  government  of  the  Union,  and  the 
concord,  peace,  and  plenty,  with  which  we  are  blessed, 
are  circumstances  auspicious,  in  an  eminent  degree,  to 
our  national  prosperity. 

In  resuming  your  consultations  for  the  general  good, 
you  cannot  but  derive  encouragement  from  the  reflection 
that  the  measures  of  the  last  session  have  been  as  satisfac 
tory  to  your  constituents,  as  the  novelty  and  difficulty  of 
the  work  allowed  you  to  hope.  Still  further  to  realize 
their  expectations,  and  to  secure  the  blessings  which  a 
gracious  Providence  has  placed  within  our  reach,  will,  in 
the  course  of  the  present  important  session,  call  for  the 
cool  and  deliberate  exertion  of  your  patriotism,  firmness, 
and  wisdom. 

Among  the  many  interesting  objects  which  will  engage 
your  attention,  that  of  providing  for  the  common  defence 
will  merit  particular  regard.  To  be  prepared  for  war  is 
one  of  the  most  effectual  means  of  preserving  peace. 

A  free  people  ought  not  only  to  be  armed,  but  disci 
plined  ;  to  which  end  a  uniform  and  well-digested  plan  is 
requisite :  and  their  safety  and  interest  require  that  they 
should  promote  such  manufactures  as  tend  to  render  them 
independent  of  others  for  essential,  particularly  military 
supplies. 

The  proper  establishment  of  the  troops  which  may  be 
deemed  indispensable,  will  be  entitled  to  mature  conside 
ration.  In  the  arrangements  which  may  be  made  re 
specting  it,  it  will  be  of  importance  to  conciliate  the  com- 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  ADDRESS.  1.3 

fortable  support  of  the  officers  and  soldiers,  with  a  due 
regard  to  economy. 

There  was  reason  to  hope  that  the  pacific  measures 
adopted  with  regard  to  certain  hostile  tribes  of  Indians 
would  have  relieved  the  inhabitants  of  our  southern  and 
western  frontiers  from  their  depredations;  but  you  will 
perceive  from  the  information  contained  in  the  papers 
which  I  shall  direct  to  be  laid  before  you,  (comprehend 
ing  a  communication  from  the  commonwealth  of  Vir 
ginia,)  that  we  ought  to  be  prepared  to  afford  protection 
to  those  parts  of  the  Union,  and,  if  necessary,  to  punish 
aggressors. 

The  interests  of  the  United  States  require  that  our  in 
tercourse  with  other  nations  should  be  facilitated  by  such 
provisions  as  will  enable  me  to  fulfil  my  duty  in  that  re 
spect,  in  the  manner  which  circumstances  may  render 
most  conducive  to  the  public  good,  and,  to  this  end,  that 
the  compensations  to  be  made  to  the  persons  who  may 
be  employed  should,  according  to  the  nature  of  their 
appointments,  be  defined  by  law;  and  a  competent  fund 
designated  for  defraying  the  expenses  incident  to  the  con 
duct  of  our  foreign  affairs. 

Various  considerations  also  render  it  expedient  that  the 
terms  on  which  foreigners  may  be  admitted  to  the  rights 
of  citizens,  should  be  speedily  ascertained  by  a  uniform 
rule  of  naturalization. 

Uniformity  in  the  currency,  weights  and  measures  of 
the  United  States,  is  an  object  of  great  importance,  and 
will,  I  am  persuaded,  be  duly  attended  to. 

The  advancement  of  agriculture,  commerce  and  manu 
factures,  by  all  proper  means,  will  not,  I  trust,  need  re 
commendation  ;  but  I  cannot  forbear  intimating  to  you  the 
expediency  of  giving  effectual  encouragement,  as  well 
to  the  introduction  of  new  and  useful  inventions  from 
abroad,  as  to  the  exertions  of  skill  and  genius  in  produ 
cing  them  at  home  ;  and  of  facilitating  the  intercourse 
between  the  distant  parts  of  our  country  by  a  due  atten 
tion  to  the  post  office  and  post  roads. 

Nor  am  I  less  persuaded  that  you  will  agree  with  me 
in  opinion,  that  there  is  nothing  which  can  better  deserve 
your  patronage  than  the  promotion  of  science  and  litera- 


THK  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 


ture.  Knowledge  is  in  every  country  the  surest  basis  of 
public  happiness.  In  one  in  which  the  measures  of  go 
vernment  receive  their  impressions  so  immediately  from 
the  sense  of  the  community  as  in  ours,  it  is  proportiona- 
bly  essential.  To  the  security  of  a  free  constitution  it 
contributes  in  various  ways  :  by  convincing  those  who 
are  intrusted  with  the  public  administration,  that  every 
valuable  end  of  government  is  best  answered  by  the  en 
lightened  confidence  of  the  people  ;  and  by  teaching  the 
people  themselves  to  know  and  to  value  their  own  rights; 
to  discern  and  provide  against  invasions  of  them  ;  to  dis 
tinguish  between  oppression  and  the  necessary  exercise 
of  lawful  authority  ;  between  burdens  proceeding  from  a 
disregard  to  their  convenience,  and  those  resulting  from 
the  inevitable  exigencies  of  society;  to  discriminate  the 
spirit  of  liberty  from  that  of  licentiousness,  cherishing 
the  first,  avoiding  the  last,  and  uniting  a  speedy  but  tern 
perate  vigilance  against  encroachments,  with  an  inviola 
ble  respect  to  the  laws. 

Whether  this  desirable  object  will  be  best  promoted  by 
affording  aids  to  seminaries  of  learning  already  establish 
ed;  by  the  institution  of  a  national  university;  or  by  any 
other  expedients,  will  be  well  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  de 
liberations  of  the  legislature. 

Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Representatives  : 

I  saw  with  peculiar  pleasure,  at  the  close  of  the  last 
session,  the  resolution  entered  into  by  you,  expressive  of 
your  opinion  that  an  adequate  pro  vision  for  the  support  of 
the  public  credit,  is  a  matter  of  high  importance  to  the 
national  honor  and  prosperity.  In  this  sentiment  I  en 
tirely  concur.  And,  to  a  perfect  confidence  in  your  best 
endeavors  to  devise  such  a  provision  as  will  be  truly  con 
sistent  with  the  end,  I  add  an  equal  reliance  on  the  cheer 
ful  co-operation  of  the  other  branch  of  the  legislature. 
It  would  be  superfluous  to  specify  inducements  to  a  mea 
sure  in  which  the  character  and  permanent  interest  of  the 
United  States  are  so  obviously  and  so  deeply  concerned, 
and  which  has  received  so  explicit  a  sanction  from  your 
declaration. 


17 

Gentlemen  of  the  Senate 

and  tfouse  of  Representatives : 

I  have  directed  the  proper  officers  to  lay  before  you, 
respectively,  such  papers  and  estimates  as  regard  the  af 
fairs  particularly  recommended  to  your  consideration, 
and  necessary  to  convey  to  you  that  information  of  the 
state  of  the  Union  which  it  is  my  duty  to  afford. 

The  welfare  of  our  country  is  the  great  object  to  which 
our  cares  and  efforts  ought  to  be  directed.  And  I  shall 
derive  great  satisfaction  from  a  co-operation  with  you,  in 
the  pleasing,  though  arduous  task  of  insuring  to  our  fel 
low-citizens  the  blessings  which  they  have  a  right  to  ex 
pect  from  a  free,  efficient,  and  equal  government. 


WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS, 

SEPTEMBER  17,   1796. 

Friends  and  Fellow- Citizens: 

The  period  for  a  new  election  of  a  citizen  to  adminis 
ter  the  executive  government  of  the  United  States  being 
not  far  distant,  and  the  time  actually  arrived  when  your 
thoughts  must  be  employed  in  designating  the  person  who 
is  to  be  clothed  with  that  important  trust,  it  appears  to 
me  proper,  especially  as  it  may  conduce  to  a  more  dis 
tinct  expression  of  the  public  voice  that  I  should  now 
apprize  you  of  the  resolution  I  have  formed,  to  decline 
being  considered  among  the  number  of  those  out  of  whom 
the  choice  is  to  be  made. 

I  beg  you  at  the  same  time  to  do  me  the  justice  to  be 
assured,  that  this  resolution  has  not  been  taken  without  a 
strict  regard  to  all  the  considerations  appertaining  to  the 
relation  which  binds  a  dutiful  citizen  to  his  country ;  and 
that  in  withdrawing  the  tender  of  service,  which  silence 
in  my  situation  might  imply,  I  am  influenced  by  no  di 
minution  of  zeal  for  your  future  interest ;  no  deficiency 
of  grateful  respect  for  your  past  kindness ;  but  am  sup- 


IS  THE    TKUE    REPUBLICAN. 

ported  by  a  full  conviction  that  the  step  is  compatible 
with  both. 

The  acceptance  of,  and  continuance  hitherto  in  the 
office  to  which  your  suffrages  have  twice  called  me,  have 
been  a  uniform  sacrifice  of  inclination  to  the  opinion  of 
duty,  and  to  a  deference  for  what  appeared  to  be  your 
desire.  I  constantly  hoped  that  it  would  have  been  much 
earlier  in  my  power,  consistently  with  motives  which  I 
was  not  at  liberty  to  disregard,  to  return  to  that  retire 
ment  from  which  I  had  been  reluctantly  drawn.  The 
strength  of  my  inclination  to  do  this,  previous  to  the  last 
election,  had  even  led  to  the  preparation  of  an  address  to 
declare  it  to  you  ;  but  mature  reflection  on  the  then  per 
plexed  and  critical  posture  of  affairs  with  foreign  nations, 
and  the  unanimous  advice  of  persons  entitled  to  my  con 
fidence,  impelled  me  to  abandon  the  idea.  I  rejoice  that 
the  state  of  your  concerns,  external,  as  well  as  internal, 
no  longer  renders  the  pursuit  of  inclination  incompatible 
with  the  sentiment  of  duty  or  propriety;  and  am  per 
suaded,  whatever  partiality  may  be  retained  for  my  ser 
vices,  that  in  the  present  circumstances  of  our  country 
you  will  not  disapprove  of  my  determination  to  retire. 

The  impressions  with  which  I  first  undertook  the  ar 
duous  trust,  were  explained  on  the  proper  occasion.  In 
the  discharge  of  this  trust,  I  will  only  say  that  I  have, 
with  good  intentions,  contributed  towards  the  organiza 
tion  and  administration  of  the  government  the  best  exer 
tions  of  which  a  very  fallible  judgment  was  capable.  Not 
unconscious,  in  the  outset,  of  the  inferiority  of  my  quali 
fications,  experience  in  my  own  eyes,  perhaps  still  more 
in  the  eyes  of  others,  has  strengthened  the  motives  to  dif 
fidence  of  myself;  and,  every  day  the  increasing  weight 
of  years  admonishes  me  more  and  more,  that  the  shade 
of  retirement  is  as  necessary  to  me  as  it  will  be  welcome. 
Satisfied  that  if  any  circumstances  have  given  peculiar 
value  to  my  services,  they  were  temporary,  I  have  the 
consolation  to  believe,  that  while  choice  and  prudence 
invite  me  to  quit  the  political  scene,  patriotism  does  not 
forbid  it. 

In  looking  forward  to  the  moment  which  is  to  termi 
nate  the  career  of  my  political  life,  my  feelings  do  not 


WASHINGTONS  FAREWELL  ADDlii:.«S.  19 

permit  me  to  suspend  the  deep  acknowledgment  of  that 
debt  of  gratitude  which  I  owe  to  my  beloved  country  for 
the  many  honors  it  has  conferred  upon  me  ;  still  more  for 
the  steadfast  confidence  with  which  it  has  supported  me : 
and  for  the  opportunities  I  have  thence  enjoyed  of  mani 
festing  my  inviolable  attachment,  by  services  faithful  and 
persevering,  though  in  usefulness  unequal  to  my  zeal. 
If  benefits  have  resulted  to  our  country  from  these  ser 
vices,  let  it  always  be  remembered  to  your  praise,  and  as 
instructive  example  in  our  annals,  that  under  circum 
stances  in  which  the  passions,  agitated  in  every  direction, 
were  liable  to  mislead- — amidst  appearances  sometimes 
dubious — vicissitudes  of  fortunes  often  discouraging — in 
situations  in  which  not  unfreqnently  want  of  success  has 
countenanced  the  spirit  of  criticism — the  constancy  of 
your  support  was  the  essential  prop  of  the  efforts,  and  a 
guarantee  of  the  plans  by  which  they  were  effected.  Pro 
foundly  penetrated  with  this  idea,  I  shall  carry  it  with  me 
to  my  grave,  as  a  strong  incitement  to  unceasing  wishes, 
that  Heaven  may  continue  to  you  the  choicest  tokens  of 
its  beneficence — that  your  union  and  brotherly  affection 
may  be  perpetual — that  the  free  constitution  which  is  the 
work  of  your  hands  may  be  sacredly  maintained — that  its 
administration  in  every  department  may  be  stamped  with 
wisdom  and  virtue — that,  in  fine,  the  happiness  of  the 
people  of  these  states,  under  the  auspices  of  liberty,  may 
be  made  complete,  by  so  careful  a  preservation,  and  so 
prudent  a  use  of  this  blessing  as  will  acquire  to  them  the 
glory  of  recommending  it  to  the  applause,  the  affection, 
and  adoption  of  every  nation  which  is  yet  a  stranger  to  it. 
Here,  perhaps,  I  ought  to  stop.  But  a  solicitude  for 
your  welfare,  which  cannot  end  but  with  my  life,  and  the 
apprehension  of  danger,  natural  to  that  solicitude,  urge 
me,  on  an  occasion  like  the  present,  to  offer  to  your  so 
lemn  contemplation,  and  to  recommend  to  your  frequent 
review,  some  sentiments,  which  are  the  result  of  much 
reflection,  of  no  inconsiderable  observation,  and  which 
appear  to  me  all-important  to  the  permanency  of  your  fe 
licity  as  a  people.  These  will  be  offered  to  you  with  the 
more  freedom,  as  you  can  only  see  in  them  the  disin 
terested  warnings  of  a  parting  friend,  who  can  possibly 


20  THE  TRITE  RKPUELICAX. 

have  no  personal  motive  to  bias  liis  counsel.  Nor  can  I 
forget,  as  an  encouragement  to  it,  your  indulgent  recep 
tion  of  my  sentiments  on  a  former  and  not  dissimilar 
occasion. 

Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  liberty  with  every  liga 
ment  of  our  hearts,  no  recommendation  of  mine  is  neces- 
ssry  to  fortify  or  confirm  the  attachment. 

The  unity  of  government,  which  constitutes  you  one 
people,  is  also  now  dear  to  you.  It  is  justly  so;  for  it  is 
a  main  pillar  in  the  edifice  of  your  real  independence ; 
the  support  of  your  tranquillity  at  home  ;  your  peace 
abroad  ;  of  your  safety ;  of  your  prosperity ;  of  that  very 
liberty  which  you  so  highly  prize.  But  as  it  is  easy  to 
foresee,  that  from  different  causes  and  from  different 
quarters,  much  pains  will  be  taken,  many  artifices  em 
ployed,  to  weaken  in  your  minds  the  conviction  of  this 
truth  ;  as  this  is  the  point  in  your  political  fortress  against 
which  the  batteries  of  internal  and  external  enemies  will 
be  most  constantly  and  actively  (though  often  covertly 
and  insidiously)  directed ;  it  is  of  infinite  moment,  that 
you  should  properly  estimate  the  immense  value  of  your 
national  union  to  your  collective  and  individual  happi 
ness;  that  you  should  cherish  a  cordial,  habitual,  and 
immoveable  attachment  to  it ;  accustoming  yourselves  to 
think  and  to  spe?,k  of  it  as  a  palladium  of  your  political 
safety  and  prosperity ;  watching  for  its  preservation  with 
jealous  anxiety;  discountenancing  whatever  may  suggest 
even  a  suspicion  that  it  can  in  any  event  be  abandoned ; 
and  indignantly  frowning  upon  the  first  dawning  of  every 
attempt  to  alienate  any  portion  of  our  country  from  the 
rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  now  link  toge 
ther  the  various  parts. 

For  this  you  have  every  inducement  of  sympathy  and 
interest.  Citizens  by  birth  or  choice,  of  a  common 
country,  that  country  has  a  right  to  concentrate  your  af 
fections.  The  name  of  AMERICAN,  which  belongs  to  you 
in  your  national  capacity,  must  always  exalt  the  just  pride 
of  patriotism,  more  than  any  appellation  derived  from 
local  discriminations.  With  slight  shades  of  difference 
you  have  the  same  religion,  manners,  habits,  and  political 
principle.  You  have,  in  a  common  cause,  fought  and 


WASHINGTON  S  FAREWKLL    ADDHIISS.  ~1 

triumphed  tog-ether  ;  the  independence  and  liberty  you 
possess,  are  the  work  of  joint  councils  and  joint  efforts — 
of  common  dangers,  sufferings,  and  success. 

But  these  considerations,  however  powerfully  they  ad 
dress  themselves  to  your  sensibility,  are  greatly  outweigh 
ed  by  those  which  apply  more  immediately  to  your  interest. 
Here  every  portion  of  our  country  finds  the  most  com 
manding  motives  for  carefully  guarding  and  preserving 
the  union  of  the  whole. 

The  north,  in  an  unrestrained  intercourse  with  the 
south,  protected  by  the  equal  laws  of  a  common  govern 
ment,  finds  in  the  productions  of  the  latter,  great  addi 
tional  resources  of  maritime  and  commercial  enterprise, 
and  precious  materials  of  manufacturing  industry.  The 
south,  in  the  same  intercourse,  benefiting  by  the  same 
agency  of  the  north,  sees  its  agriculture  grow  and  its 
commerce  expand.  Turning  partly  into  its  own  channels 
the  seamen  of  the  north,  it  finds  its  particular  navigation 
invigorated — and  while  it  contributes  in  different  ways  to 
nourish  and  increase  the  general  mass  of  the  national  na 
vigation,  it  looks  forward  to  the  protection  of  a  maritime 
strength,  to  which  itself  is  unequally  adapted.  The  east,  ' 
in  like  intercourse  with  the  west,  already  finds  in  the  pro 
gressive  improvement  of  interior  communications  by  land 
and  water,  will  more  and  more  find  a  valuable  vent  for 
the  commodities  which  it  brings  from  abroad,  or  manu 
factures  at  home.  The  west,  derives  from  the  east  sup 
plies  requisite  to  its  growth  and  comfort — and  what  is 
perhaps  of  still  greater  consequence,  it  must  of  necessity 
owe  the  secure  enjoyment  of  indispensable  outlets  for  its 
own  productions,  to  the  weight,  influence,  and  the  future 
maritime  strength  of  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  Union,  di 
rected  by  an  indissoluble  community  of  interest  as  one 
nation.  Any  other  tenure  by  which  the  west  can  hold 
this  essential  advantage,  whether  derived  from  its  own 
separate  strength,  or  from  an  apostate  and  unnatural  con 
nection  with  any  foreign  power,  must  be  intrinsically 
precarious. 

While,  then,  every  part  of  our  country  thus  feels  an 
immediate  and  particular  interest  in  union,  all  the  parts 
combined  cannot  {nil  to  find  in  the  united  mass  of  means 


23  THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

and  efforts,  greater  strength,  greater  resource,  proper 
tionably  greater  security  from  external  danger,  a  less 
frequent  interruption  of  their  peace  by  foreign  nations ; 
and  what  is  of  inestimable  value,  they  must  derive  from 
union  an  exemption  from  those  broils  and  wars  between 
themselves,  which  so  frequently  afflict  neighboring  coun 
tries,  not  tied  together  by  the  same  government,  which 
their  own  rivalships  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  produce  ; 
but  which  opposite  foreign  alliances,  attachments,  and 
intrigues,  would  stimulate  and  embitter.  Hence,  like 
wise,  they  will  avoid  the  necessity  of  those  overgrown 
military  establishments,  which  under  any  form  of  govern 
ment  are  inauspicious  to  liberty,  and  which  are  to  be 
regarded  as  particularly  hostile  to  republican  liberty. 
In  this  sense  it  is,  that,  your  union  ought  to  be  considered 
as  a  main  prop  of  your  liberty,  and  that  the  love  of  the 
one  ought  to  endear  you  to  the  preservation  of  the  other. 

These  considerations  speak  a  persuasive  language  to 
every  reflecting  and  virtuous  mind,  and  exhibit  the  con 
tinuance  of  the  union  as  a  primary  object  of  patriotic 
desire.  Is  there  a  doubt  whether  a  common  government 
can  embrace  so  large  a  sphere  ?  Let  experience  solve  it. 
To  listen  to  mere  speculation  in  such  a  case  were  crimi 
nal.  We  are  authorized  to  hope  that  a  proper  organiza 
tion  of  the  whole,  with  the  auxiliary  agency  of  govern 
ments  for  the  respective  subdivisions,  will  afford  a  happy 
issue  of  the  experiment.  It  is  well  worth  a  fair  and  full 
experiment.  With  such  powerful  and  obvious  motives  to 
union,  affecting  all  parts  of  our  country,  while  experience 
shall  not  have  demonstrated  its  impracticability,  there  will 
always  be  reason  to  distrust  the  patriotism  of  those  who 
in  any  quarter  may  endeavor  to  weaken  its  bands. 

In  contemplating  the  causes  which  may  disturb  our 
union,  it  occurs  as  matter  of  serious  concern  that  any 
ground  should  have  been  furnished  for  characterizing 
parties,  by  geographical  discriminations — Northern  and 
Southern;  Atlantic  and  Western;  whence  designing 
men  may  endeavor  to  excite  a  belief  that  there  is  a  real 
difference  of  local  interests  and  views.  <~»ne  of  the  expe 
dients  of  party  to  acquire  influence  within  particular 
districts,  is  to  misrepresent  the  opinions  and  aims  of  other 


WASHINGTONS  FAREWKLL  ADDRESS.  23 

districts.  You  cannot  shield  yourselves  too  much  against 
the  jealousies  and  heart-burnings  which  spring  from  these 
misrepresentations ;  they  tend  to  render  alien  to  each 
other  those  who  ought  to  be  bound  together  by  fraternal 
affection.  The  inhabitants  of  our  western  country  have 
lately  had  a  useful  lesson  on  this  head.  They  have  seen 
in  the  negociation  by  the  executive,  and  in  the  unanimous 
ratification  by  the  senate  of  the  treaty  with  Spain,  and  iu 
the  universal  satisfaction  at  that  event  throughout  the 
United  States,  a  decisive  proof  how  unfounded  were  the 
suspicions  propagated  among  them  of  a  policy  in  the 
general  government,  and  in  the  Atlantic  states,  unfriend 
ly  to  their  interests  in  regard  to  the  Mississippi.  They 
have  been  witnesses  to  the  formation  of  two  treaties,  that 
with  Great  Britain,  and  that  with  Spain,  which  secure  to 
them  every  thing  they  could  desire,  in  respect  to  our  for 
eign  relations,  toward  confirming  their  prosperity.  Will 
it  not  be  their  wisdom  to  rely  for  the  preservation  of  these 
advantages  on  the  union  by  which  they  were  procured  ? 
Will  they  not  henceforth  be  deaf  to  those  advisers,  if  such 
there  are,  who  would  sever  them  from  their  brethren,  and 
connect  them  with  aliens  ? 

To  the  efficacy  and  permanency  of  your  union,  a 
government  for  the  whole  is  indispensable.  No  alliances, 
however  strict  between  the  parts,  can  be  an  adequate 
substitute;  they  must  inevitably  experience  the  infrac 
tions  and  interruptions  which  alliances  in  all  times  have 
experienced.  Sensible  of  this  momentous  truth,  you 
have  improved  upon  your  first  essay,  by  the  adoption  of 
a  constitution  of  government  better  calculated  than  your 
former  for  an  intimate  union,  and  for  the  efficacious 
management  of  your  common  concern.  This  govern 
ment,  the  offspring  of  your  own  choice,  uninfluenced  ana 
unawed ;  adopted  upon  full  investigation  and  mature  de 
liberation;  completely  free  in  its  principles;  in  the  dis 
tribution  of  its  powers,  uniting  security  with  energy, 
and  containing  within  itself  provision  for  its  own  amend 
ment,  has  a  just  claim  to  your  confidence  and  your 
support.  Respect  for  its  authority,  compliance  with  its 
laws,  acquiescence  in  its  measures,  are  duties  enjoined 
by  the  fundamental  maxims  of  true  liberty.  The  basis  ol 


21  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

our  political  system  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  make 
and  to  alter  their  constitutions  of  government.  Cut  the 
constitution  which  at  any  time  exists,  until  changed  by 
an  explicit  and  authentic  act  of  the  whole  people,  is  sa 
credly  obligatory  upon  all.  The  very  idea  of  the  power 
and  the  right  of  the  people  to  establish  government,  pre 
supposes  the  duty  of  every  individual  to  obey  the  esta- 
•blished  government. 

All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  laws,  all 
combinations  and  associations,  under  whatever  plausible 
character,  with  the  real  design  to  direct,  control,  coun 
teract,  or  awe  the  regular  deliberations  and  action  of  the 
constituted  authorities,  are  destructive  of  this  funda 
mental  principle,  and  of  fatal  tendency.  They  serve  to 
organize  faction ;  to  give  it  an  artificial  and  extraordinary 
force  ;  to  put  in  the  place  of  the  delegated  will  of  the 
nation,  the  will  of  party,  often  a  small,  but  artful  and  en 
terprising  minority  of  the  community ;  and  according  to 
the  alternate  triumphs  of  different  parties,  to  make  the 
public  administration  the  mirror  of  the  ill-concerted  and 
incongruous  projects  of  faction,  rather  than  the  organ  of 
consistent  and  wholesome  plans,  digested  by  common 
counsels,  and  modified  by  mutual  interests. 

However  combinations  or  associations  of  the  above 
description  may  now  and  then  answer  popular  ends,  they 
are  likely,  in  the  course  of  time  and  things,  to  become 
potent  engines  by  which  cunning,  ambitious,  and  un 
principled  men  will  be  enabled  to  subvert  the  power  of 
the  people,  and  to  usurp  for  themselves  the  reins  of 
government;  destroying  after  wards  the  very  engines  which 
have  lifted  them  to  unjust  dominion. 

Towards  the  preservation  of  your  government,  and  the 
permanency  of  your  present  happy  state,  it  is  requisite 
not  only  that  you  steadily  discountenance  irregular  oppo 
sition  to  its  acknowledged  authority,  but  also  that  you 
resist  with  care  the  spirit  of  innovation  upon  its  princi 
ples,  however  specious  the  pretext.  One  method  of 
assault  may  be  to  effect  in  the  forms  of  the  constitution 
alterations  which  will  impair  the  energy  of  the  system, 
and  thus  to  undermine  what  cannot  be  directly  over- 
hrown.  In  all  the  changes  lo  which  youmay  be  invited, 


WASHINGTONS  FAREWELL  ADDRESS.  25 

remember  that  time  and  habit  are  at  least  as  necessary  to 
fix  the  true  character  of  governments,  as  of  other  human 
institutions;  that  experience  is  the  surest  standard  by 
which  to  test  the  real  tendency  of  the  existing  constitu 
tions  of  a  country;  that  facility  in  changes,  upon  the 
credit  of  mere  hypothesis  and  opinion,  exposes  to  per 
petual  change,  from  the  endless  variety  of  hypothesis  and 
opinion ;  and  remember  especially,  that  from  the  efficient 
management  of  your  common  interests,  in  a  country  so 
extensive  as  ours,  a  government  of  as  much  vigor  as  is 
consistent  with  the  perfect  security  of  liberty,  is  indis 
pensable.  Liberty  itself  will  find  in  such  a  government, 
with  powers  properly  distributed  and  adjusted,  its  surest 
guardian.  It  is,  indeeed,  little  else  than  a  name,  where 
the  government  is  too  feeble  to  withstand  the  enterprises 
of  faction,  to  confine  each  member  of  society  within  the 
limits  prescribed  by  the  laws,  and  to  maintain  all  in  the 
secure  and  tranquil  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  person 
and  property. 

I  have  already  intimated  to  you  the  danger  of  parties 
in  the  state,  with  particular  reference  to  the  founding  of 
them  upon  geographical  discriminations.  Let  me  now 
take  a  more  comprehensive  view,  and  warn  you,  in  the 
most  solemn  manner,  against  the  baneful  effects  of  the 
spirit  of  party  generally. 

This  spirit,  unfortunately,  is  inseparable  from  our  na 
ture,  having  its  root  in  the  strongest  passions  of  the  human 
mind.  It  exists  under  different  shapes  in  all  governments, 
more  or  less  stifled,  controlled,  or  repressed;  but  in  those 
of  the  popular  form  it  is  seen  in  its  greatest  rankness, 
and  is  truly  their  worst  enemy. 

The  alternate  domination  of  one  faction  over  another, 
sharpened  by  the  spirit  of  revenge,  natural  to  party 
dissection,  which  in  different  ages  and  countries  has  per 
petrated  the  most  horrid  enormities,  is  itself  a  frightful 
despotism.  But  this  leads  at  length  to  a  more  formal  and 
permanent  despotism.  The  disorders  and  miseries  which 
result,  gradually  incline  the  minds  of  men  to  seek  secu 
rity  and  repose  in  the  absolute  power  of  an  individual ; 
and,  sooner  or  later,  the  chief  of  some  prevailing  faction, 
more  able  or  more  fortunate  than  his  competitors,  turn*? 


26  TIIK  TRUE  REPl  IJLICAX. 

this  disposition  to  the  purposes  of  his  own  elevation  on 
the  ruins  of  the  public  liberty. 

Without  looking  forward  to  an  extremity  of  this  kind, 
(which  nevertheless  ought  not  to  be  entirely  out  of  sight,) 
the  common  and  continual  mischiefs  of  the  spirit  of  party 
are  sufficient  to  make  it  the  interest  and  duty  of  a  wise 
people  to  discourage  and  restrain  it. 

It  serves  always  to  distract  the  public  councils,  and 
enfeeble  the  public  administration.  It  agitates  the  com 
munity  with  ill-founded  jealousies  and  false  alarms;  kin 
dles  the  animosity  of  one  part  against  another;  foments 
occasional  riot  and  insurrection.  It  opens  the  door  to 
foreign  influence  and  corruption,  which  find  a  facilitated 
access  to  the  government  itself,  through  the  channels  of 
party  passion.  Thus  the  policy  and  will  of  one  country 
are  subjected  to  the  policy  and  will  of  another. 

There  is  an  opinion  that  parties  in  free  countries  are 
useful  checks  upon  the  administration  of  the  government, 
and  serve  to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  liberty.  This,  within 
certain  limits,  is  probably  true  ;  and  in  governments  of  a 
monarchial  cast,  patriotism  may  look  with  indulgence, 
if  not  with  favor,  upon  the  spirit  of  party.  But  in  those 
of  popular  character,  in  governments  purely  elective,  it 
is  a  spirit  not  to  be  encouraged.  From  the  natural  ten 
dency,  it  is  certain  there  will  always  be  enough  of  that 
spirit  for  every  salutary  purpose ;  and  there  being  constant 
danger  of  excess,  the  effort  ought  to  be,  by  force  of  public 
opinion,  to  mitigate  and  assuage  it.  A  fire  not  to  be 
quenched,  it  demands  a  uniform  vigilance  to  prevent  its 
bursting  into  a  flame,  lest,  instead  of  warming,  it  should 
consume. 

It  is  important,  likewise,  that  the  habits  of  thinking, 
in  a  free  country,  should  inspire  caution  in  those  intrust 
ed  with  its  administration,  to  confine  themselves  within 
their  respective  constitutional  spheres;  avoiding,  in  the 
exercise  of  the  powers  of  one  department,  to  encroach 
upon  another.  The  spirit  of  encroachment  tends  to  con 
solidate  the  powers  of  all  the  departments  in  one,  and 
thus  to  create,  whatever  the  form  of  government,  a  real 
despotism.  A  just  estimate  of  that  love  of  power,  and 
proneness  to  abuse  it,  which  predominate  in  the  human 


WASHINGTON  S  FARCWliLI.    ADDRESS.  27 

heart,  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  us  of  the  truth  of  this  posi 
tion.  The  necessity  of  reciprocal  checks  in  the  exercise 
of  political  power,  by  dividing-  and  distributing  into  dif 
ferent  depositories,  and  constituting  each  the  guardian  of 
the  public %vreal  against  invasions  of  the  other,  has  been 
evinced  by  experiments,  ancient  and  modern;  some  of 
them  in  our  country,  and  under  our  own  eyes.  To  pre 
serve  them  must  be  as  necessary  as  to  institute  them.  If, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  people,  the  distribution  or  modifica 
tion  of  the  constitutional  powers  be,  in  any  particular 
wrong,  let  it  be  corrected  by  an  amendment  in  the  May 
in  which  the  constitution  designates.  But  let  there  be  no 
change  by  usurpation;  for  thrugh  this,  in  one  instance, 
may  be  the  instrument  of  good,  it  is  the  customary  wea 
pon  by  which  free  governments  are  destroyed.  The  pre 
cedent  must  always  greatly  overbalance,  in  permanent 
evil,  any  partial  or  transient  benefit  which  the  use  can  at 
any  time  yield. 

Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead  to  politi 
cal  prosperity,  religion  and  morality  are  indispensable 
supports.  In  vain  would  that  man  claim  the  tribute  of 
patriotism,  who  should  labor  to  subvert  these  great  pil 
lars  of  human  happiness — these  firmest  props  of  the  duties 
of  men  and  citizens.  The  mere  politician,  equally  with 
the  pious  man,  ought  to  respect  and  to  cherish  them.  A 
volume  could  not  trace  all  their  connection  with  private 
and  public  felicity.  Let  it  simply  be  asked,  where  is  the 
security  for  property,  for  reputation,  for  life,  if  the  sense 
of  religious  obligation  desert  the  oaths,  which  are  the 
instruments  of  investigation  in  courts  of  justice  ?  And 
let  us  \vith  caution  indulge  the  supposition  that  morality 
can  be  maintained  without  religion.  Whatever  may  be 
conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined  education  on  minds 
of  peculiar  structure,  reason  and  experience  both  forbid 
us  to  expect  that  national  morality  can  prevail  in  exclu 
sion  of  religious  principles. 

It  is  substantially  true  that  virtue  or  morality  is  a  ne 
cessary  spring  of  popular  government.  The  rule  indeed 
extends  with  more  or  less  force  to  every  species  of  free 
government.  Who  that  is  a  sincere  friend  to  it  can  look 
with  indifference  upon  attempts  to  shake  the  foundation 
of  the  fabric  ? 


28  THE  TRIE  REPUBLICAN. 

Promote,  then,  as  an  object  of  primary  importance 
institutions  for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge.  In 
proportion  as  the  structure  of  a  government  gives  force 
to  public  opinion,  it  is  essential  thatpublic  opinion  should 
be  enlightened.  * 

As  a  very  important  source  of  strength  and  security, 
cherish  public  credit.  One  method  of  preserving  it,  is 
to  use  it  as  sparingly  as  possible,  avoiding  occasions  of 
expense  by  cultivating  peace,  but  remembering,  also,  that 
timely  disbursements  to  prepare  for  danger,  frequently 
prevent  much  greater  disbursements  to  repel  it;  avoiding 
likewise  the  accumulation  of  debt,  not  only  by  shunning 
occasions  of  expense,  but  by  vigorous  exertions  in  time 
of  peace  to  discharge  the  debts  which  unavoidable  wars 
have  occasioned,  not  ungenerously  throwing  upon  pos 
terity  the  burdens  which  we  ourselves  ought  to  bear.  The 
execution  of  these  maxims  belongs  to  your  representa 
tives  ;  but  it  is  necessary  that  public  opinion  should  co 
operate.  To  facilitate  to  them  the  performance  of  their 
duty,  it  is  essential  that  you  should  practically  bear  in 
mind,  that  towards  the  payment  of  debts  there  must  be 
revenue ;  that  to  have  revenue  there  must  be  taxes  ;  that 
no  taxes  can  be  devised  which  are  not  more  or  less  incon 
venient  and  unpleasant ;  that  the  intrinsic  embarrassment, 
inseparable  from  the  selection  of  the  proper  objects, 
(which  is  always  a  choice  of  difficulties,)  ought  to  be  a 
decisive  motive  for  a  candid  construction  of  the  conduct 
of  the  government  in  making  it,  and  for  a  spirit  of  acqui 
escence  in  the  measures  for  obtaining  revenue  which  the 
public  exigencies  may  at  any  time  dictate. 

Observe  good  faith  and  justice  towards  all  nations; 
cultivate  peace  and  harmony  with  all;  religion  and  mo 
rality  enjoin  this  conduct;  and  can  it  be  that  good  policy 
does  not  equally  enjoin  it  ?  It  will  be  worthy  of  a  free, 
enlightened,  and  at  no  distant  period,  a  great  nation,  to 
give  to  mankind  the  magnanimous  and  too  novel  example 
of  a  people  always  guided  by  an  exalted  justice  and  be 
nevolence.  Who  can  doubt  but  that  in  the  course  of 
time  and  things  the  fruits  of  such  a  plan  would  richly  re 
pay  any  temporary  advantages  which  might  be  lost  by  a 
steady  adherence  to  it?  Can  it  be  thai  Providence  has 


WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRI:?S.  29 

connected  the  permanent  felicity  of  a  nation  with  its 
virtue?  The  experiment,  at  least,  is  recommended  by 
every  sentiment  which  ennobles  human  nature.  Alas  ! 
it  is  rendered  impossible  by  its  vices ! 

In  the  execution  of  such  a  plan,  nothing  is  more 
essential  than  that  permanent,  inveterate  antipathies 
against  particular  nations,  and  passionate  attachment  for 
others,  should  be  excluded;  and  that  in  the  place  of 
them,  just  and  amicable  feelings  towards  all  should  be 
cultivated.  The  nation  which  indulges  towards  another 
an  habitual  hatred,  or  an  habitual  fondness,  is  in  some 
degree,  a  slave.  It  is  a  slave  to  its  animosity  or  to  its 
affection,  either  of  which  is  sufficient  to  lead  it  astray 
from  its  duty  and  its  interest.  Antipathy  in  one  nation 
against  another,  disposes  each  more  readily  to  offer  insult 
and  injury,  to  lay  hold  of  slight  causes  of  umbrage,  and 
to  be  haughty  and  intractable  when  accidental  or  trifling 
occcasions  of  dispute  occur. 

Hence  frequent  collisions,  obstinate,  envenomed,  and 
bloody  contests.  The  nation,  prompted  by  ill  will  and 
resentment,  sometimes  impels  to  war  the  government, 
contrary  to  the  best  calculations  of  policy.  The  govern 
ment  sometimes  participates  in  the  national  propensity, 
and  adopts  through  passion  what  reason  would  reject; 
at  other  times  it  makes  the  animosity  of  the  nation  sub 
servient  to  the  projects  of  hostility,  instigated  by  pride, 
ambition,  and  other  sinister  and  pernicious  motives. 
The  peace  often,  sometimes,  perhaps,  the  liberty  of  na 
tions  has  been  the  victim. 

So,  likewise,  a  passionate  attachment  of  one  nation  for 
another  produces  a  variety  of  evils.  Sympathy  for  the 
favorite  nation,  facilitating  the  illusion  of  an  imaginary 
common  interest  in  cases  where  no  real  common  interest 
exists,  and  infusing  into  one  the  enmities  of  the  other, 
betrays  the  former  into  a  participation  in  the  quarrels  and 
the  wars  of  the  latter,  without  adequate  inducements  or 
justification.  It  leads,  also,  to  concessions  to  the  favorite 
nation  of  privileges  denied  to  others,  which  are  apt 
doubly  to  injure  the  nation  making  the  concessions,  by 
unnecessarily  parting  with  what  ought  to  have  been  re 
tained,  and  by  excitino-  jealousy,  ill  will  and  a  di.spo- 
3* 


30  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

sitio  11  to  retaliate  in  the  parties  from  whom  equal  privi. 
leges  are  withheld  ;  and  it  gives  to  ambitious,  corrupt,  or 
deluded  citizens,  (who  devote  themselves  to  the  favorite 
nation,)  facility  to  betray  or  sacrifice  the  interests  of  their 
own  country  without  odium,  sometimes  even  with  popu 
larity  ;  gilding  with  the  appearances  of  a  virtuous  sense 
of  obligation  to  a  commendable  deference  for  public  opi 
nion,  or  a  laudable  zeal  for  public  good,  the  base  or  fool- 
lish  compliances  of  ambition,  corruption,  or  infatuation. 

As  avenues  to  foreign  influence,  in  innumerable  ways, 
such  attachments  are  particularly  alarming  to  the  truly 
enlightened  and  independent  patriot.  How  many  oppor 
tunities  do  they  afford  to  tamper  with  domestic  factions, 
to  practise  the  art  of  seduction,  to  mislead  public  opinion, 
to  influence  or  awe  the  public  councils  !  Such  an  at 
tachment  of  a  small  or  weak,  towards  a  great  and  power 
ful  nation,  dooms  the  former  to  be  the  satellite  of  the 
latter.  Against  the  insidious  wiles  of  foreign  influence 
(I  conjure  you  to  believe  me,  fellow-citizens)  the  jealousy 
of  a  free  people  ought  to  be  constantly  awake,  since 
history  and  experience  prove  that  foreign  influence  is  one 
of  the  most  baneful  foes  of  republican  government.  But 
that  jealousy,  to  be  useful,  must  be  impartial,  else  it  be 
comes  the  instrument  of  the  very  influence  to  be  avoided, 
instead  of  a  defence  against  it.  Excessive  partiality  for 
one  foreign  nation,  and  excessive  dislike  for  another, 
cause  those  whom  they  actuate  to  see  danger  only  on  one 
side,  and  serve  to  veil  and  even  second  the  arts  of  influ 
ence  on  the  other.  Real  patriots,  who  may  resist  the 
intrigues  of  the  favorite,  are  liable  to  become  suspected 
and  odious ;  while  its  tools  and  dupes  usurp  the  applause 
and  confidence  of  the  people  to  surrender  their  interests. 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us,  in  regard  to  foreign 
nations,  is,  in  extending  our  commercial  relations  to  have 
with  them  as  little  political  connection  as  possible.  So 
far  as  we  have  already  formed  engagements,  let  them  be 
fulfilled  with  perfect  good  faith.  Here  let  us  stop. 

Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interests,  which  to  us  have 
none,  or  a  very  remote  relation.  Hence,  she  must  be 
engaged  in  frequent  controversies,  the  causes  of  which 


"WASHINGTON'S    FAREWELL  ADDRESS.  3J 

are  essentially  foreign  to  our  concerns.  Hence,  there 
fore,  it  must  be  unwise  in  us  to  implicate  ourselves  by 
arliiieial  ties,  in  the  ordinary  vicissitude  of  her  politics, 
or  the  ordinary  combinations  and  collisions  of  her  friend 
ships  or  enmities. 

Our  detached  and  distant  situation  invites  and  enables 
us  to  pursue  a  different  course.  If  we  remain  one  peo 
ple,  under  an  efficient  government,  the  period  is  not  far 
off  when  we  may  defy  material  injury  from  external 
annoyance;  when  we  may  take  such  an  attitude  as  will 
cause  the  neutrality  we  may  at  any  time  resolve  upon,  to 
be  scrupulously  respected;  when  belligerent  nations, 
under  the  impossibility  of  making  acquisitions  upon  us, 
will  not  lightly  hazard  the  giving  us  provocation;  when 
we  may  choose  peace  or  war,  as  our  interest,  guided  by 
justice,  shall  counsel. 

Why  forego  the  advantages  of  so  peculiar  a  situation  ? 
Why  quit  our  own  to  stand  upon  foreign  ground  ?  Why, 
by  interweaving  our  destiny  with  that  of  any  part  of 
Europe,  entangle  our  peace  and  prosperity  in  the  toils 
of  European  ambition,  rivalship,  interest,  humor  or  ca 
price  ? 

It  is  our  true  policy  to  steer  clear  of  permanent  alli 
ances  with  any  portion  of  the  foreign  world;  so  far  I  mean, 
as  we  are  now  at  liberty  to  do  it ;  for  let  me  not  be  un 
derstood  as  capable  of  patronizing  infidelity  to  existing 
engagements.  I  hold  the  maxim  no  less  applicable  to 
public  than  to  private  affairs,  that  honesty  is  always  the 
best  policy.  I  repeat,  therefore,  let  those  engagements  be 
observed  in  their  genuine  sense.  But  in  my  opinion,  it 
is  unnecessary,  and  would  be  unwise  to  extend  them. 

Taking  care  always  to  keep  ourselves,  by  suitable 
establishments,  on  a  respectable  defensive  posture,  we 
may  safely  trust  to  temporary  alliances  for  extraordinary 
emergencies. 

Harmony,  and  a  liberal  intercourse  with  all  nations, 
are  recommended  by  policy,  humanity,  and  interest. 
But  even,  our  commercial  policy  should  hold  an  equal 
and  impartial  hand;  neither  seeking  nor  granting  exclu 
sive  favors  or  preferences;  consulting  the  natural  course 
of  thing's;  diffusing  and  diversifying  by  gentle  means  the 


32  THE  TRUK    REPUBLICAN. 

stream  of  commerce,  but  forcing  nothing;  establishing 
with  powers  so  disposed,  in  order  to  give  trade  a  stable 
course,  to  define  the  rights  of  our  merchants,  and  to 
enable  the  government  to  support  them,  conventional 
rules  of  intercourse,  the  best  that  present  circumstances 
and  natural  opinion  will  permit,  but  temporary,  and 
liable  to  be,  from  time  to  time,  abandoned  or  varied,  as 
experience  and  circumstances  shall  dictate;  constantly 
keeping  in  view  that  it  is  folly  in  one  nation  to  look  for 
disinterested  favors  from  another;  that  it  must  pay  with 
a  portion  of  its  independence  for  whatever  it  may  accept 
under  that  character;  that  by  such  acceptance,  it  may 
place  itself  in  the  condition  of  having  given  equivalents 
for  nominal  favors,  and  yet  of  being  reproached  with 
ingratitude  for  not  giving  more.  There  can  be  no  greater 
error  than  to  expect  or  calculate  upon  real  favors  from 
nation  to  nation.  It  is  an  illusion  which  experience 
must  cure,  which  ajust  pride  ought  to  discard. 

In  offering  to  you,  my  countrymen,  these  counsels  of 
an  old  affectionate  friend,  I  dare  not  hope  they  will  make 
the  strong  and  lasting  impression  I  could  wish — that  they 
will  control  the  usual  current  of  the  passions,  or  prevent 
our  nation  from  running  the  course  which  has  hitherto 
marked  the  destiny  of  nations.  But  if  I  may  even  flatter 
myself  that  they  may  be  productive  of  some  partial  bene 
fit,  some  occasional  good;  that  they  may  now  and  then 
recur  to  moderate  the  fury  of  party  spirit ;  to  warn  against 
the  mischiefs  of  foreign  intrigue;  to  guard  against  the 
impostures  of  pretended  patriotism;  this  hope  will  be  a 
full  recompense  for  the  solicitude  for  your  welfare  by 
which  they  have  been  dictated. 

How  far  in  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties  I  have 
been  guided  by  the  principles  which  have  been  delinea 
ted,  the  public  records  and  other  evidences  of  my  conduct 
must  witness  to  you  and  to  the  world.  To  myself,  the 
assurance  of  my  own  conscience  is,  that  I  have  at  least 
believed  myself  to  be  guided  by  them. 

In  relation  to  the  still  subsisting  war  in  Europe,  my 
proclamation  of  the  22d  of  April,  1793,  is  the  index  to 
my  plan.  Sanctioned  by  your  approving  voice,  and  by 
that  of  your  representatives  in  both  houses  of  Congress, 


WASHINGTON  S  FARKWKI.L  ADDRESS.  33 

the  spirit  of  that  measure  has  continually  governed  me, 
uninfluenced  by  any  attempts  to  deter  or  clivertme  from  it. 

After  deliberate  examination,  with  the  aids  of  the  best 
lights  I  could  obtain,  I  was  well  satisfied  that  our  coun 
try,  under  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  had  a  right 
to  take,  and  was  bound  in  duty  and  interest  to  take,  a 
neutral  position.  Having  taken  it,  I  determined,  as  far 
as  should  depend  upon  rne,  to  maintain  it  with  modera 
tion,  perseverance  and  firmness. 

The  considerations  which  respect  the  right  to  hold 
this  conduct,  it  is  not  necessary  on  this  occasion  to  de 
tail.  I  will  only  observe,  that  according  to  my  under 
standing  of  the  matter,  that  right,  so  far  from  being  de 
nied  by  any  of  the  belligerent  powers,  has  been  virtually 
admitted  by  all. 

The  duty  of  holding  a  neutral  conduct  may  be  inferred, 
without  any  thing  more,  from  the  obligation  which  justice 
and  humanity  impose  on  every  nation,  in  cases  in  which 
it  is  free  to  act,  to  maintain  inviolate  the  relations  of 
peace  and  amity  towards  other  nations. 

The  inducements  of  interest  for  observing  that  con 
duct,  will  best  be  referred  to  your  own  reflections  and 
experience.  With  me,  a  predominant  motive  has  been  to 
endeavor  to  gain  time  to  our  country,  to  settle  and  mature 
its  yet  recent  institutions,  and  to  progress,  without  inter 
ruption,  to  that  degree  of  strength  and  constancy,  which 
is  necessary  to  give  it,  humanely  speaking,  the  command 
of  its  own  fortune. 

Though  in  reviewing  the  incidents  of  my  administra 
tion,  I  am  unconscious  of  intentional  error;  I  am  ne 
vertheless  too  sensible  of  my  defects  not  to  think  it  pro 
bable  that  I  may  have  committed  many  errors.  What 
ever  they  may  be,  I  fervently  beseech  the  Almighty  to 
avert  or  mitigate  the  evils  to  which  they  may  tend.  I 
shall  also  carry  with  me  the  hope  that  my  country  will 
never  cease  to  view  them  with  indulgence;  and  that, 
after  forty-five  years  of  my  life  dedicated  to  its  service, 
with  an  upright  zeal,  the  faults  of  incompetent  abilities 
will  be  consigned  to  oblivion,  as  myself  must  soon  be  to 
the  mansions  of  rest. 


34  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN'. 

Relying  on  its  kindness  in  this  as  in  other  thing's,  and 
actuated  by  that  fervent  love  towards  it,  which  is  so  natu 
ral  to  a  man  who  views  in  it  the  native  soil  of  himself 
and  his  progenitors  for  several  generations  ;  I  anticipate, 
with  pleasing  expectation,  that  retreat,  in  which  I  promise 
myself  to  realize,  without  alloy,  the  sweet  enjoyment  of 
partaking  in  the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  the  benign 
influence  of  good  laws,  under  a  free  government;  the 
ever  favorite  object  of  my  heart,  and  the  happy  reward, 
as  I  trust,  of  our  mutual  cares,  labors  and  dangers. 


ADAMS'  INAUGURAL  ADJDRESS, 
MARCH  4,  1797. 

When  it  was  first  perceived,  in  early  times,  that  no 
middle  course  for  America  remained,  between  unlimited 
submission  to  a  foreign  legislature,  and  a  total  indepen 
dence  of  its  claims,  men  of  reflection  were  less  apprehen 
sive  of  danger  from  the  formidable  power  of  fleets  and 
armies  they  must  determine  to  resist,  than  from  those 
contests  and  dissensions  which  would  certainly  arise  con 
cerning  the  forms  of  government  to  be  instituted  over  the 
whole  and  over  the  parts  of  this  extensive  country.  Rely 
ing,  however,  on  the  purity  of  their  intentions,  the  justice 
of  their  cause,  and  the  integrity  and  intelligence  of  the 
people,  under  an  overruling  Providence  which  had  so  sig 
nally  protected  this  country  from  the  first,  the  represen 
tatives  of  this  nation,  then  consisting  of  little  more  than 
half  its  present  number,  not  only  broke  to  pieces  the 
chains  which  were  forging,  and  the  rod  of  iron  that  was 
lifted  up,  but  frankly  cut  asunder  the  ties  which  had 
bound  them,  and  launched  into  an  ocean  of  uncertainty. 

The  zeal  and  ardor  of  the  people,  during  the  revolu 
tionary  war,  supplying  the  place  of  government,  com 
manded  a  degree  of  order,  sufficient  at  least  for  the  tem 
porary  preservation  of  society.  The  confederation  which 


ADAMS  IXArcURAL  ADDKKSS.  3") 

was  early  felt  to  be  necessary  was  prepared  from  the  mo 
dels  of  the  Batavian  and  Helvetic  confederacies  :  the  only, 
examples  which  remain,  with  any  detail  and  precision  in 
history,  and  certainly  the  only  ones  which  the  people  at 
large  had  ever  considered.  But,  reflecting  on  the  striking 
difference  in  so  many  particulars,  between  this  country 
and  those,  where  a  courier  may  go  from  the  seat  of  go 
vernment  to  the  frontier  in  a  single  day,  it  was  then  cer 
tainly  foreseen  by  some  who  assisted  in  Congress  at  the 
formation  of  it,  that  it  could  not  be  durable. 

Negligence  of  its  regulations,  inattention  to  its  recom 
mendations,  if  not  disobedience  to  its  authority,  not  only 
in  individuals,  but  in  states,  soon  appeared  with  their  mel 
ancholy  consequences;  universal  languor;  jealousies  and 
rivalries  of  states  ;  decline  of  navigation  and  commerce; 
discouragement  of  necessary  manufactures  ;  universal  fall 
in  the  value  of  lands  and  their  produce  ;  contempt  of 
public  and  private  faith;  loss  of  consideration  and  credit 
with  foreign  nations  ;  and,  at  length,  in  discontents,  ani 
mosities,  combinations,  partial  conventions,  and  insurrec 
tion,  threatening  some  great  national  calamity. 

In  this  dangerous  crisis,  the  people  of  America  were 
not  abandoned  by  their  usual  good  sense,  presence  of 
mind,  resolution,  or  integrity.  Measures  were  pursued 
to  concert  a  plan  to  form  a  more  perfect  union,  establish 
justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  com 
mon  defence,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure 
the  blessings  of  liberty.  The  public  disquisitions,  dis 
cussions  and  deliberations,  issued  in  the  present  happy 
constitution  of  government. 

Employed  in  the  service  of  my  country  abroad  during 
the  whole  course  of  these  transactions,  I  first  saw  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States  in  a  foreign  country. 
Irritated  by  no  literary  altercation,  animated  by  no  public 
debate,  heated  by  no  party  animosity,  I  rea'd  it  with  great 
satisfaction,  as  a  result  of  good  heads,  prompted  by  good 
hearts;  as  an  experiment  better  adapted  to  the  genius, 
character,  situation,  and  relations  of  this  nation  and 
country,  than  any  which  had  ever  been  proposed  or  sug 
gested.  In  its  general  principles  and  great  outlines,  it 


36  IliE  TRIE   REPUBLICAN. 

was  conformable  to  such  a  system  of  government  as  I  had 
ever  most  esteemed,  and  some  states,  my  own  native 
state  in  particular,  had  contributed  to  establish.  Claim 
ing  a  right  of  suffrage,  in  common  with  my  fellow-citi 
zens,  in  the  adoption  or  rejection  of  a  constitution  which 
was  to  rule  me  and  my  posterity,  as  well  as  them  and 
theirs,  I  did  not  hesitate  to  express  my  approbation  of  it, 
on  all  occasions,  in  public  and  in  private.  It  was  not 
then,  nor  has  been  since,  any  objection  to  it,  in  my  mind, 
that  the  executive  and  senate  were  not  more  permanent. 
Nor  have  I  ever  entertained  a  thought  of  promoting  any 
alteration  in  it,  but  such  as  the  people  themselves,  in  the 
course  of  their  experience,  should  see  and  feel  to  be  ne 
cessary  or  expedient,  and  by  their  Representatives  in  Con 
gress  and  the  state  legislatures,  according  to  the  consti 
tution  itself,  adopt  and  ordain. 

Returning  to  the  bosom  of  my  country,  after  a  painful 
separation  from  it  for  ten  years,  I  had  the  honor  to  be 
elected  to  a  station  under  the  new  order  of  things,  and  I 
have  repeatedly  laid  myself  under  the  most  serious  obli 
gations  to  support  the  constitution.  The  operation  of  it 
has  equalled  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  its  friends  ; 
and,  from  an  habitual  attention  to  it,  satisfaction  in  its 
administration,  and  delight  in  its  effects  upon  the  peace, 
order,  prosperity,  and  happiness  of  the  nation,  I  have  ac 
quired  an  habitual  attachment  to  it  and  veneration  for  it. 

What  other  form  of  government,  indeed,  can  so  well 
deserve  our  esteem  and  love  ? 

There  may  be  little  solidity  in  an  ancient  idea,  that 
congregations  of  men  into  cities  and  nations  are  the  most 
pleasing  objects  in  the  sight  of  superior  intelligences  : 
but  this  is  very  certain,  that,  toabenevolenthuman  mind, 
there  can  be  no  spectacle  presented  by  any  nation  more 
pleasing,  more  noble,  majestic,  or  august,  than  an  as 
sembly  like  that  which  has  so  often  been  seen  in  this 
and  the  other  chamber  of  Congress,  of  a  government,  in 
which  the  executive  authority,  as  well  as  that  of  all  the 
branches  of  the  legislature,  are  exercised  by  citizens  se 
lected,  at  regular  periods,  by  their  neighbors,  to  make 
and  execute  laws  for  the  general  good.  Can  any  thing 


ADA3IS     INAUGURAL  ADDRKSS.  37 

essential,  any  thing  more  than  mere  ornament  and  deco 
ration,  be  added  to  this  by  robes  and  diamonds?  Can 
authority  be  more  amiable  and  respectable,  when  it  de 
scends  from  accidents,  or  institutions  established  in  re 
mote  antiquity,  than  when  it  springs  fresh  from  the  hearts 
and  judgments  of  an  honest  and  enlightened  people  ? 
For  it  is  the  people  only  that  are  represented:  it  is  their 
power  and  majesty  that  is  reflected,  and  only  for  their 
good,  in  every  legitimate  government,  under  whatever 
form  it  may  appear.  The  existence  of  such  a  govern 
ment  as  ours,  for  any  length  of  time,  is  a  full  proof  of  a 
general  dissemination  of  knowledge  and  virtue  through 
out  the  whole  body  of  the  people.  And  what  object  or 
consideration  more  pleasing  than  this,  can  be  presented 
to  the  human  mind?  If  national  pride  is  ever  justifiable, 
or  excusable,  it  is  when  it  springs,  not  from  power  or 
riches,  grandeur  or  glory,  but  from  conviction  of  national 
innocence,  information  and  benevolence. 

In  the  midst  of  these  pleasing  ideas,  we  should  be  un 
faithful  to  ourselves,  if  we  should  ever  lose  sight  of  the 
danger  to  our  liberties,  if  any  thing  partial  or  extraneous 
should  infect  the  purity  of  our  free,  fair,  virtuous,  and  in 
dependent  elections.  If  an  election  is  to  be  determined 
by  a  majority  of  a  single  vote,  and  that  can  be  procured 
by  a  party,  through  artifice  or  corruption,  the  government 
may  be  the  choice  of  a  party,  for  its  own  ends,  not  of 
the  nation  for  the  national  good.  If  that  solitary  suffrage 
can  be  obtained  by  foreign  nations  by  flattery  or  menaces, 
by  fraud  or  violence,  by  terror,  intrigue,  or  venality,  the 
government  may  not  be  the  choice  of  the  American  peo 
ple,  but  of  foreign  nations.  It  may  be  foreign  nations 
who  govern  us,  and  not  we,  the  people,  who  govern  our 
selves.  And  candid  men  will  acknowledge,  that  in  such 
cases,  choice  would  have  little  advantage  to  boast  of,  over 
lot  or  chance. 

Such  is  the  amiable  and  interesting  system  of  govern 
ment  (and  such  are  some  of  the  abuses  to  which  it  may 
be  exposed)  which  the  people  of  America  have  exhibited 
to  the  admiration  and  anxiety  of  the  wise  and  virtuous  of 
all  nations  for  eight  years,  under  the  administration  of  a 
citizen,  who,  by  a  long  course  of  great  actions,  regulated 
4 


33  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

by  prudence,  justice,  temperance,  and  fortitude,  conduct 
ing  a  people,  inspired  with  the  same  virtues,  and  anima 
ted  with  the  same  ardent  patriotism  and  L.ve  of  liberty, 
to  independence  and  peace,  to  increasing  wealth  and  un 
exampled  prosperity,  lias  merited  the  gratitude  of  his  fel 
low-citizens,  commanded  the  highest  praises  of  foreign 
nations,  and  secured  immortal  glory  with  posterity. 

In  that  retirement  which  is  his  voluntary  choice,  may 
he  long  live  to  enjoy  the  delicious  recollection  of  his  ser 
vices,  the  gratitude  of  mankind,  the  happy  fruits  of  them 
to  himself  and  the  world,  which  are  daily  increasing,  and 
that  splendid  prospect  of  the  future  fortunes  of  this  coun 
try  which  is  opening  from  year  to  year.  His  name  may 
be  still  a  rampart,  and  the  knowledge  that  he  HVPS,  a  bul 
wark  against  all  open  or  secret  enemies  of  his  country's 
peace.  This  example  has  been  recommended  to  the  imi 
tation  of  his  successors  by  both  houses  of  Congress,  and 
by  the  voice  of  the  legislatures  and  the  people  throughout 
the  nation. 

On  this  subject  it  might  become  me  better  to  be  silent, 
or  to  speak  with  diffidence;  but,  as  something  may  be  ex 
pected,  the  occasion,  I  hope,  will  be  admitted  as  an  apo 
logy,  if  I  venture  to  say,  That, 

If  a  preference,  upon  principle,  of  a  free  republican 
government,  formed  upon  long  and  serious  reflection,  after 
a  diligent  and  impartial  inquiry  after  truth  ;  if  an  attach 
ment  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  a  con 
scientious  determination  to  support  it,  until  it  shall  be  al 
tered  by  the  judgments  and  wishes  of  the  people,  express 
ed  in  the  mode  prescribed  in  it;  if  a  respectful  attention 
to  the  constitutions  of  the  individual  states,  and  a  con 
stant  caution  and  delicacy  towards  the  state  governments; 
if  an  equal  and  impartial  regard  to  the  rights,  interest, 
honor,  and  happiness  of  all  the  states  in  the  Union,  with 
out  preference  or  regard  to  a  northern  or  southern,  an 
eastern  or  western  position,  their  various  political  opi 
nions  on  unessential  points,  or  their  personal  attachments; 
if  a  love  of  virtuous  men  of  all  parties  and  denomina 
tions;  if  a  love  of  science  and  letters,  and  a  wish  to  pa 
tronize  every  rational  effort  to  encourage  schools,  col 
leges,  universities,  academies,  and  every  institution  for  pro- 


ADAMS'  INAUGURAL  ADDKEBS.  3Vf 

pagating  knowledge,  virtue,  and  religion,  among  all  classes 
of  the  people,  not  only  for  their  benign  influence  on 
the  happiness  of  life  in  all  its  stages  and  classes,  and  of 
society  in  all  its  forms,  but  as  the  only  means  of  preserv 
ing  our  constitution  from  its  natural  enemies,  the  spirit 
of  sophistry,  thtj  spirit  of  party,  the  spirit  of  intrigue,  the 
profligacy  of  corruption,  and  the  pestilence  of  foreign  in 
fluence,  which  is  the  angel  of  destruction  to  elective  go 
vernments  ;  if  M  love  of  equal  laws,  of  justice,  and  hu 
manity  in  the  interior  administration;  if  an  inclination  to 
improve  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufactures  for  ne 
cessity,  convenience,  and  defence;  if  a  spirit  of  equity 
and  humanity  towards  the  aboriginal  nations  of  America, 
and  a  disposition  to  meliorate  their  condition  by  inclining 
them  to  be  more  friendly  to  us,  and  our  citizens  to  be 
more  friendly  to  them  ;  if  an  inflexible  determination  to 
maintain  peace  and  inviolable  faith  with  all  nations,  and 
that  system  of  neutrality  and  impartiality  among  the  bel 
ligerent  powers  of  Europe  which  has  been  adopted  by 
this  government,  and  so  solemnly  sanctioned  by  both 
houses  of  Congress,  and  applauded  by  the  legislatures  of 
the  states  and  the  public  opinion,  until  it  shall  be  other 
wise  ordained  by  Congress;  if  a  personal  esteem  for  the 
French  nation,  formed  in  a  residence  of  seven  years, 
chiefly  among  them,  and  a  sincere  desire  to  preserve 
the  friendship  which  has  been  so  much  for  the  honor  and 
interest  of  both  nations  ;  if,  while  the  conscious  honor  and 
integrity  of  the  people  of  America,  and  the  internal  senti 
ment  of  their  own  power  and  energies  must  be  preserved, 
an  earnest  endeavor  to  investigate  every  just  cause,  and 
remove  every  colorable  pretence  of  complaint;  if  an  in 
tention  to  pursue  by  amicable  negociation  a  reparation  for 
the  injuries  that  have  been  committed  on  the  commerce 
of  our  fellow-citizens  by  whatever  nation;  and  if  success 
cannot  be  obtained,  to  lay  the  facts  before  the  legislature, 
that  they  may  consider  what  further  measures  the  honor 
and  interest  of  the  government  and  its  constituents  de 
mand ;  if  a  resolution  to  do  justice,  as  far  as  may  depend 
upon  me.  at  all  times  and  to  all  nations,  and  maintain 
peace,  friendship,  and  benevolence  with  all  the  world; 
:  fan  unshaken  confidence  in  the  honor,  spirit,  and  re- 


40  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

sources  of  the  American  people,  on  which  I  have  so  often 
hazarded  my  all,  and  never  been  deceived;  if  elevated 
ideas  of  the  high  destinies  of  this  country  and  of  my  own 
duties  towards  it,  founded  on  a  knowledge  of  the  moral 
principles  and  intellectual  improvements  of  the  people, 
deeply  engraven  on  my  mind  in  early  life,  and  not  obscu 
red,  but  exalted  by  experience  and  age;  and,  with  humble 
reverence,  I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  add,  if  a  veneration 
for  the  religion  of  a  people  who  profess  and  call  themselves 
Christians,  and  a  fixed  resolution  to  consider  a  decent  re 
spect  for  Christianity  among  the  best  recommendations 
for  the  public  service,  can  enable  me,  in  any  degree  to 
comply  with  your  wishes,  it  shall  be  my  strenuous  endea 
vor,  that  this  sagacious  injunction  of  :he  two  houses  shall 
not  be  without  effect. 

With  this  great  example  before  me,  with  the  sense  and 
spirit,  the  faith  and  honor,  the  duty  and  interest,  of  the 
same  American  people,  pledged  to  support  the  constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States,  I  entertain  no  doubt  of  its  con 
tinuance  in  all  its  energy,  and  my  mind  is  prepared,  with 
out  hesitation,  to  lay  myself  under  the  most  solemn  obli 
gations  to  support  it  to  the  utmost  of  my  power. 

And  may  that  Being  who  is  supreme  over  all,  the  Pa 
tron  of  order,  the  Fountain  of  justice,  and  the  Protector, 
in  all  ages  of  the  world,  of  virtuous  liberty,  continue  his 
blessing  upon  this  nation  and  its  government,  and  give  it 
all  possible  success  and  duration  consistent  with  the  ends 
of  his  Providence. 


ADAMS'  FIRST  ANNUAL  ADDRESS, 
NOVEMBER  23,  1797. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Senate 

and  House  of  Representatives : 

I  was  for  some  time  apprehensive  that  it  would  be  ne 
cessary,  on  account  of  the  contagious  sickness  which  af 
flicted  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  to  convene  the  national 
legislature  at  some  other  place.  This  measure  it  was 


ADAMS     FIRST  ANNUAL  ADDRESS.  41 

desirable  to  avoid,  because  it  would  occasion  much  public 
inconvenience,  and  a  considerable  public  expense,  and 
add  to  the  calamities  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  city,  whose 
sufferings  must  have  excited  the  sympathy  ol  iill  iheir  fel 
low-citizens;  therefore,  after  taking  measures  to  ascer 
tain  the  state  and  decline  of  the  sickness,  I  postponed  my 
determination,  having  hopes,  now  happily  realized,  that, 
withi  ut  hazard  to  the  lives  of  the  members,  Congress 
might  assemble  at  this  place,  where  it  was  by  law  next 
to  meet.  1  submit,  however,  lo  ynur  consideration,  whe 
ther  a  power  to  postpone  the  meeting  of  Congress,  with 
out  passing  the  time  fixed  by  the  constitution,  upon  such 
occasions,  would  not  be  a  useful  amendment  to  the  law  of 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-four. 

Although  I  cannot  yet.  congratulate  you  on  the  re-esta 
blishment  of  peace  in  K u rope,  and  the  restoration  of  se 
curity  to  the  persons  and  properties  of  our  citizens  from 
it-justice  and  violence  at  sea;  we  have,  nevertheless, 
abundant  cause  of  gratitude  to  the  Source  of  benevolence 
and  influence,  for  interior  tranquillity  and  personal  secu 
rity,  for  propitious  seasons,  prospero  s  agriculture,  pro 
ductive  fisheries,  and  general  improvements,  and  above 
all,  for  a  rational  spirit  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and 
a  cairn  but  steady  determination  to  support  our  sovereign 
ty,  as  well  as  our  moral  and  religious  principles,  against 
all  open  and  secret  attacks. 

Our  envoys  extraordinary  to  the  French  republic  em 
barked,  one  in  July,  the  other  early  in  August  to  join 
their  colleague  in  Holland.  I  have  received  intelligence 
of  the  arrival  of  both  of  them  in  Holland,  from  whence 
they  all  proceeded  on  their  journey  to  Paris,  within  a  few 
days  of  the  19th  of  September.  Whatever  may  be  the 
result  of  this  mission,  I  trust  that  nothing  will  have  been 
omitted,  on  my  part,  to  conduct  the  negociation  to  a  suc 
cessful  conclusion,  on  such  equitable  terms  as  may  be 
compatible  with  the  safely,  honor,  and  interest  of  the 
United  States.  Nothing,  in  the  mean  time,  will  contri 
bute  so  much  to  the  preservation  of  peace,  and  the  attain 
ment  of  justice,  as  a  manifestation  of  that  energy  and  una 
nimity,  of  which,  on  many  former  occasions,  the  people 
of  the  United  States  have  given  such  memorable  proofs. 
4* 


42  TIIK  TRUE  RKPUDLICAN 

and  the  exertion  of  those  resources  for  national  defence 
which  a  beneficent  Providence  has  kindly  placed  within 
their  power. 

It  may  be  confidently  asserted,  that  nothing  has  occur 
red,  since  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  which  renders 
inexpedient  those  precautionary  measures  recommended 
by  me  to  the  consideration  of  the  two  houses,  at  the  open 
ing  of  your  late  extraordinary  session.  If  that  system 
was  then  prudent,  it  is  more  so  now,  as  increasing  depre 
dations  strengthen  the  reasons  for  its  adoption. 

Indeed,  whatever  may  be  the  issue  of  the  negociation 
with  France,  and  whether  the  war  in  Europe  is,  or  is  not, 
to  continue,  I  hold  it  most  certain,  that  permanent  tran 
quillity  and  order  will  not  soon  be  obtained.  The  state 
of  society  lias  so  long  been  disturbed,  the  sense  of  moral 
and  religious  obligations  so  much  weakened,  public  faith 
and  national  honor  have,  been  so  impaired,  respect  to  trea 
ties  has  been  so  diminished,  and  the  law  of  nations  has 
lost  so  much  of  its  force;  while  pride,  ambition,  avarice, 
and  violence,  have  been  so  long  unrestrained,  there  re 
mains  no  reasonable  ground  on  which  to  raise  an  expec 
tation,  that  a  commerce  without  protection  or  defence  will 
not  be  plundered. 

The  commerce  of  the  United  States  is  essential,  if  not 
to  their  existence,  at  least  to  their  comfort,  their  growth, 
prosperity,  and  happiness.  The  genius,  character,  and 
habits  of  the  people  are  highly  commercial ;  their  cities 
have  been  formed  and  exist  upon  commerce;  our  agri 
culture,  fisheries,  arts,  and  manufactures,  are  connected 
with  and  depend  upon  it.  In  short,  commerce  has  made 
this  country  what  it  is,  and  it  cannot  be  destroyed  or  neg 
lected  without  involving  the  people  in  poverty  and  dis 
tress.  Great  numbers  are  directly  and  solely  supported 
by  navigation  ;  the  faith  of  society  is  pledged  for  the  pre 
servation  of  the  rights  of  commercial  and  seafaring,  no 
less  than  of  the  other  citizens.  Under  this  view  of  our 
affairs,  I  should  hold  myself  guilty  of  a  neglect  of  duty  if 
I  forbore  to  recommend  that  we  should  make  every  exer 
tion  to  protect  our  commerce,  and  to  place  our  country  in 
a  suitable  posture  of  defence,  as  the  only  sure  means  oi 
preserving  both. 


ADAU3     FIRST  ANNUAL  ADDRESS.  43 

I  have  entertained  an  expectation  that  it  would  have 
been  in  my  power,  at  the  opening  of  tliis  session,  to  have 
communicated  to  you  the  agreeable  information  of  the 
due  execution  of  our  treaty  with  his  Catholic  majesty, re 
specting  the  withdrawing  of  his  troops  from  our  territory, 
and  the  demarkation  of  the  line  of  limits  ;  but,  by  the 
latest  authentic  intelligence,  Spanish  garrisons  were  still 
continued  within  our  country,  and  the  running  of  the 
boundary  line  had  not  been  commenced;  these  circum 
stances  are  the  more  to  be  regretted,  as  they  cannot  fail  to 
affect  the  Indians  in  a  manner  injurious  to  the  United 
States.  Still,  however,  indulging  the  hope  that  the 
answers  which  have  bt^en  given  will  remove  the  objec 
tions  offered  by  the  Spanish  officers  to  the  immediate 
execution  of  the  treaty,  I  have  judged  it  proper  that  we 
should  continue  in  readiness  to  receive  the  posts,  and  to 
run  the  line  of  limits.  Further  information  on  this  sub 
ject  will  be  communicated  in  the  course 'of  the  session. 

In  connection  with  this  unpleasant  state  of  things  on 
our  western  frontier,  it  is  proper  for  me  to  mention  the 
attempts  of  foreign  agents  to  alienate  the  affections  of 
the  Indian  nations,  and  to  excite  them  to  actual  hostili 
ties  against  the  United  States;  great  activity  has  been  ex 
erted  by  those  persons  who  have  insinuated  themselves 
among  the  Indian  tribes  residing  within  the  territory  of 
the  U.iited  States,  to  influence  them  to  transfer  their  af 
fections  and  force  to  a  foreign  nation,  to  form  them  into 
a  confederacy,  and  prepare  them  for  a  war  against  the 
United  States.  Although  measures  have  been  taken  to 
counteract  these  infractions  of  our  rights,  to  prevent  In 
dian  hostilities,  and  to  preserve  entire  their  attachment 
to  the  United  States,  it  is  my  duty  to  observe,  that,  to  give 
a  better  effect  to  these  measures,  and  to  obviate  the  con 
sequences  of  a  repetition  of  such  practices,  a  law  provi 
ding  adequate  punishment  for  such  offences  may  be  ne 
cessary. 

The  commissioners  appointed  under  the  fifth  article  of 
the  treaty  of  amity,  commerce  and  navigation  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  to  ascertain  the  river 
which  was  truly  intended  under  the  name  of  the  river  St. 
Croix,  mentioned  in  the  treaty  of  peace,  met  at  Passa 


44  THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

maquoddy  Bay,  in  October,  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  ninety-six,  and  viewed  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  in 
question,  and  adjacent  shores  on  the  islands;  and  being 
of  opinion,  that  actual  surveys  of  both  rivers,  to  their 
sources,  were  necessary,  gave  to  the  agents  ot  the  two 
nations  instructions  for  that  purpose,  and  adjourned  to 
meet  at  Boston,  in  August.  They  met;  but  the  surveys 
requiring  more  time  than  had  been  supposed,  and  not  be 
ing  then  completed,  the  commissioners  again  adjourned 
to  meet  at  Providence,  in  the  state  of  Rhode  island,  in 
June  next,  when  we  may  expect  a  final  examination  and 
decision. 

The  commissioners  appointed  in  pursuance  of  the  sixth 
article  of  the  treaty,  met  at  Philadelphia,  in  May  last,  to 
examine  the  claims  of  British  subjects  for  debts  contract 
ed  before  the  peace,  and  still  remaining  due  to  them  from 
citizens  or  inhabitants  of  the  United  States.  Various 
causes  have  hitherto  prevented  any  determinations;  but 
the  business  is  now  resumed,  and  doubtless  will  be  prose 
cuted  without  interruption. 

Several  decisions  on  the  claims  of  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States  for  losses  and  damages  sustained  by  reason 
of  irregular  and  illegal  captures  or  condemnations  of  their 
vessels  or  other  property,  have  been  made  by  the  com 
missioners  in  London,  conformably  to  the  seventh  arti 
cle  of  the  treaty.  The  sums  awarded  by  the  commis 
sioners  have  been  paid  by  the  British  government;  a  con 
siderable  number  of  other  claims,  where  costs  and  dama 
ges,  and  not  captured  property,  were  the  only  objects  in 
question,  have  been  decided  by  arbitration,  and  the  sums 
awarded  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  have  also 
been  paid. 

The  commissioners  appointed,  agreeably  to  the  twen 
ty-first  article  of  our  treaty  with  Spain,  met  at  Philadel 
phia,  in  the  summer  past,  to  examine  and  decide  on  the 
claims  of  our  citizens  for  losses  they  have  sustained  in 
consequence  of  their  vessels  and  cargoes  having  been  ta 
ken  by  the  subjects  of  his  Catholic  majesty,  during  the 
late  war  between  Spain  and  France.  Their  sittings  have 
been  interrupted,  but  are  now  resumed. 


ADAMS'  FIRST  ANNUAL  ADDRESS.  45 

The  United  States  being  obligated  to  make  compensa 
tion  for  the  losses  and  damages  sustained  by  British  sub 
jects,  upon  the  award  of  the  commissioners  acting  under 
the  sixth  article  of  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  and  for 
the  losses  and  damages  sustained  by  British  subjects,  by 
reason  of  the  capture  of  their  vessels  and  merchandise, 
taken  within  the  limits  and  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  and  brought  into  their  ports,  or  taken  by  vessels 
originally  armed  in  ports  of  the  United  States,  upon  the 
awards  of  the  commissioners,  acting  under  the  seventh  ar 
ticle  of  the  same  treaty ;  it  is  necessary  that  provision  be 
made  for  fulfilling  these  obligations. 

The  numerous  captures  of  American  vessels  by  the 
cruisers  of  the  French  republic,  and  of  some  of  those  of 
Spain,  have  occasioned  considerable  expenses  in  making 
and  supporting  the  claims  of  our  citizens  before  their 
tribunals.  The  sums  required  for  this  purpose,  have,  in 
divers  instances,  been  disbursed  by  the  consuls  of  the 
United  States.  By  means  of  the  same  captures,  great 
numbers  of  our  seamen  have  been  thrown  ashore  in  for 
eign  countries,  destitute  of  all  means  of  subsistence,  and 
the  sick,  in  particular,  have  been  exposed  to  grievous  suf 
ferings.  The  consuls  have,  in  these  cases  also,  advanced 
money  for  their  relief ;  for  these  advances  they  reasonably 
expect  reimbursements  from  the  United  States. 

The  consular  act,  relative  to  seamen,  requires  revision 
and  amendment;  the  provisions  for  their  support  in  for 
eign  countries,  and  for  their  return,  are  found  to  be  inade 
quate  and  ineffectual.  Another  provision  seems  neces 
sary  to  be  added  to  the  consular  act;  some  foreign  vessels 
have  been  discovered  sailing  under  the  flag  of  the  United 
States,  and  with  forged  papers  ;  it  seldom  happens  that 
the  consuls  can  detect  this  deception,  because  they  have 
no  authority  to  demand  an  inspection  of  the  registers  and 
sea-letters. 

Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Representatives : 

It  is  my  duty  to  recommend  to  your  serious  considera 
tion  those  objects,  which,  by  the  constitution,  are  placed 
particularly  within  your  sphere,  the  national  debts  and 
taxes. 


46  THE  TRUE   REPUBLICAN. 

Since  the  decay  of  the  feudal  system,  by  which  tbe 
public  defence  was  provided  for  chiefly  at  the  expense  of 
individuals,  the  system  of  loans  has  been  introduced;  and 
as  n;>  nation  can  raise  within  the  year,  by  taxes,  sufficient 
sums  for  the  defence  and  military  operations  in  time  of 
war,  the  sums  loaned  and  debts  contracted  have  necessa 
rily  become  the  subjects  of  what  have  been  called  fund 
ing  systems.  The  consequences  arising  from  the  contin 
ual  accumulation  of  public  debts  in  other  countries,  ought 
to  admonish  us  to  be  careful  to  prevent  their  growth  in 
our  own.  The  national  defence  must  be  provided  for,  as 
well  as  the  support  of  government;  but  both  should  be 
accomplished,  as  much  as  possible,  by  immediate  taxes, 
and  as  little  as  possible  by  loans. 

The  estimates  for  the  service  of  the  ensuing  year,  will 
by  my  direction,  be  laid  before  you. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Senate, 

and  House  of  Representatives: 

We  are  met  together  at  a  most  interesting  period.  The 
situaiions  of  the  principal  powers  of  Europe  are  singular 
and  portenious.  Connected  with  some  by  treaties,  and 
with  all  by  commerce,  no  important  event  there  can  be  in 
different  to  us.  Such  circumstances  call  with  peculiar 
importunity,  not  less  for  a  disposition  to  unite  in  all  those 
measures  on  which  the  honor,  safety,  and  prosperity  of 
our  country  depend,  than  for  ail  the  exertions  of  wisdom 
and  firmness. 

In  all  such  measures,  you  may  rely  on  my  zealous  and 
hearty  concurrence. 


JEFFERSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS, 
.      MARCH  4,  1801. 

Friends  and  Fellow-citizens: 

Called  upon  to  undertake  the  duties  of  the  first  execu 
tive  office  of  our  country,  I  avail  myself  of  the  presence 
of  that  portion  of  my  fellow-citizens  which  is  here  as- 


JJEtFIFlE IKS 


JEFFERSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  47 

sembled,  to  express  my  grateful  thanks  for  the  favor  with 
which  they  have  been  pleased  to  look  towards  me,  to  de 
clare  a  sincere  consciousness  that  the  task  is  above  my 
talents,  and  that  I  approach  it  with  those  anxious  and  aw 
ful  presentiments,  which  the  greatness  of  the  charge,  and 
the  weakness  of  my  powers,  so  justly  inspire.  A  rising 
nation,  spread  over  a  wide  and  fruitful  land,  traversing  all 
the  seas  with  the  rich  productions  of  their  industry,  en 
gaged  in  commerce  with  nations  who  feel  power  and  for 
get  right,  advancing  rapidly  to  destinies  beyond  the  reach 
of  mortal  eye;  when  I  contemplate  these  transcendent 
objects,  and  see  the  honor,  the  happiness,  and  the  hopes 
of  this  beloved  country  committed  to  the  issue  and  the 
auspices  of  this  day,  1  shrink  from  the  contemplation,  and 
humble  myself  before  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking. 
Utterly  indeed  should  I  despair,  did  not  the  presence  of 
many  whom  I  here  see  remind  me  that,  in  the  other  high 
authorities  provided  by  our  constitution,  I  shall  find  re 
sources  of  wisdom,  of  virtue,  and  of  zeal,  on  which  to 
rely  under  all  difficulties.  To  you,  then,  gentleman,  who 
are  charged  with  the  sovereign  functions  of  legislation, 
and  to  those  associated  with  you,  I  look  with  encourage 
ment  for  that  guidance  and  support  which  may  enable  us 
to  steer  with  safety  the  vessel  in  which  we  are  all  em 
barked  amid  the  conflicting  elements  of  a  troubled  world. 

During  the  contest  of  opinion  through  which  we  have 
pMSsed,  the  animation  of  discussion  and  of  exertions  has 
sometimes  worn  an  aspect  which  might  impose  on  stran 
gers  unused  to  think  freely,  and  to  speak  and  to  write 
what  they  think;  but  this  being  now  decided  by  the  voice 
of  the  nation,  announced  according  to  the  rules  of  the 
constitution,  all  will  of  course  arrange  themselves  under 
the  will  of  the  law,  and  unite  in  common  efforts  for  the 
common  good.  All  too  will  bear  in  mind  this  sacred 
principle,  that  though  the  will  of  the  majority  is  in  all 
cases  to  prevail,  that  will,  to  be  rightful,  must  be  reason 
able;  that  the  minority  possess  their  equal  rights,  which 
equal  law  must  protect,  and  to  violate,  would  be  oppres 
sion.  Let  us,  then,  fellow-citizens,  unite  with  one  heart 
and  one  mind,  let  us  restore  to  social  intercourse  that 
harmony,  and  affection,  without  which  liberty,  and  even 
life  itself,  are  but  dreary  things.  And  let  us  reflect,  that. 


49  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

having  banished  from  our  land  that  religious  intolerance? 
under  which  mankind  so  long  bled  and  suffered,  we  have 
yet  gained  little,  if  we  countenance  a  political  intole 
rance,  as  despotic,  as  wicked,  and  capable  of  as  bitter  and 
bloody  persecutions.  During  the  throes  and  convulsions 
of  the  ancient  world,  during  the  agonizing  spasms  of  in 
furiatcd  man,  seeking  through  blood  and  slaughter  his 
long-lost  liberty,  it  was  not  wonderful  that  the  agitation 
of  the  billows  should  reach  even  this  distant  and  peaceful 
shore;  that  this  should  be  more  felt  and  feared  by  some, 
and  less  by  others  ;  that  this  should  divide  opinions  as  to 
measures  of  safety;  but  every  difference  of  opinion  is  not 
a  difference  of  principle.  We  have  called  by  different 
names  brethren  of  the  same  principle.  We  are  all  repub 
licans;  we  are  all  federalists.  If  there  be  any  among 
us  who  would  wish  to  dissolve  this  Union,  or  to  change 
its  republican  form,  let  them  stand  undisturbed  as  monu 
ments  of  the  safety  with  which  error  of  opinion  may  be 
tolerated,  where  reason  is  left  free  to  combat  it.  I  know 
indeed  that  some  honest  men  fear  that  a  republican  gov 
ernment  cannot  be  strong  ;  that  this  government  is  not 
strong  enough.  But  would  the  honest  patriot,  in  the  full 
tide  of  successful  experiment,  abandon  a  government  which 
has  so  far  kept  us  free  and  firm,  on  the  theoretic  and  vis 
ionary  fear  that  this  government,  the  world's  best  hope, 
may,  by  possibility,  want  energy  to  preserve  itself?  I 
trust  not.  I  believe  this,  on  the  contrary,  the  strongest 
government  on  earth.  I  believe  it  the  only  one  where 
every  man,  at  the  call  of  the  laws,  would  fly  to  the  stan 
dard  of  the  law,  and  would  meet  invasions  of  the  public 
order  as  his  own  personal  concern.  Sometimes  it  is  said 
that  man  cannot  be  trusted  with  the  government  of  him 
self.  Can  he  then  be  trusted  witli  the  government  of 
others;  or  have  we  found  angels  in  tLe  forms  of  kings  to 
govern  him?  Let  history  answer  this  question. 

Let  us,  then,  wiih  courage  and  confidence,  pursue  our 
own  federal  and  republican  principles,  our  attachment  to 
our  union  and  representative  government.  Kindly  sepa 
rated  by  nature  and  a  wide  ocean  from  the  exterminating 
havoc  of  one  quarter  of  the  globe;  too  high-minded  TO 
endure  the  degradations  of  the  others ;  possessing  a 


49 

chosen  country,  with  room  enough  for  our  descendants  to 
the  thousandth  and  thousandth  generation;  entertaining 
a  due  sense  of  our  equal  right  to  the  use  of  our  own  fa 
culties,  to  the  acquisitions  of  our  industry,  to  honor  and 
confidence  from  our  fellow-citizens,  resulting  not  from 
birth,  but  from  our  actions  and  their  sense  of  them  ;  en 
lightened  by  a  benign  religion,  professed  indeed  and 
practised  in  various  forms,  yet  all  of  them  including  ho 
nesty,  truth,  temperance,  gratitude,  and  the  love  of  man, 
acknowledging  and  adoring  an  overruling  Providence, 
which,  by  all  its  dispensations,  proves  that  it  delights  in 
the  happiness  of  man  here,  and  his  greater  happiness 
hereafter ;  with  all  these  blessings,  what  more  is  neces 
sary  to  make  us  a  happy  and  prosperous  people  ?  Still 
one  thing  more,  fellow-citizens — a  wise  and  frugal  govern 
ment,  which  shall  restrain  men  from  injuring  one  another, 
shall  leave  them  otherwise  free  to  regulate  their  own  pur 
suits  of  industry  and  improvement,  and  shall  not  take  from 
the  mouth  of  labor  the  bread  it  has  earned.  This  is  the 
sum  of  good  government,  and  this  is  necessary  to  close 
the  circle  of  our  felicities. 

About  to  enter,  fellow-citizens,  on  the  exercise  of  du 
ties  which  comprehend  every  thing  dear  and  valuable  to 
you,  it  is  proper  that  you  should  understand  what  I  deem 
the  essential  principles  of  our  government,  and  conse 
quently  those  which  ought  to  shape  its  administration.  I 
will  compress  them  within  the  narrowest  compass  they 
will  bear,  stating  the  general  principles,  but  not  all  its 
limitations.  Equaland  exact  justice  to  all  men,  of  what 
ever  state  or  persuasion,  religious  or  political;  peace,  com 
merce,  and  honest,  friendship  with  all  nations,  entangling 
alliances  with  none  ;  the  support  of  the  state  govern 
ments  in  all  their  rights,  as  the  most  competent  adminis 
trations  forourdomestic  concerns,  and  the  surest  bulwarks 
against  anti-republican  tendencies;  the  preservation  of 
the  general  government  in  its  whole  constitutional  vigor, 
as  the  sheet  anchor  of  our  peace  at  home  and  safety 
abroad;  a  jealous  care  of  the  right  of  election  by  the 
people;  a  mild  and  safe  corrective  of  abuses,  which  are 
opped  by  the  sword  of  revolution,  where  peaceable  re- 
are  unprovided;  absolute  acquiescence  in  the  de- 
5 


50  THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

cisions  of  the  majority,  the  vital  principle  of  republics, 
from  which  is  no  appeal  but  to  force,  the  vital  principle 
and  immediate  parent  of  despotism;  a  well-disciplined 
militia,  our  best  reliance  in  peace,  and  for  the  first  mo 
ments  of  war,  till  regulars  may  relieve  them;  the  suprem 
acy  of  the  civil  over  the  military  authority;  economy  in 
the  public  expense,  that  labor  may  be  lightly  burdened; 
the  honest  payment  of  our  debts,  and  sacred  preservation 
of  the  public  faith;  encouragement  of  agriculture,  and  of 
commerce  as  its  handmaid  ;  the  diffusion  of  information, 
and  arraignment  of  all  abuses  at  the  bar  of  public  reason  ; 
freedom  of  religion  ;  freedom  of  the  press  ;  and  freedom 
of  person,  under  the  protection  of  the  habeas  corpus  ; 
and  trial  by  juries  impartially  selected.  These  principles 
form  the  bright  constellation  which  has  gone  before  us, 
and  guided  our  steps  through  an  age  of  revolution  and 
reformation.  The  wisdom  of  our  sages  and  blood  of  our 
heroes  have  been  devoted  to  their  attainment:  they  should 
be  the  creed  of  our  political  faith ;  the  text  of  civil  in 
struction;  the  touchstone  by  which  to  try  the  services  of 
those  we  trust;  and  should  we  wander  from  them  in  mo 
ments  of  error  or  alarm,  let  us  hasten  to  retrace  our  steps, 
and  to  regain  the  road  which  alone  leads  to  peace,  liber 
ty,  and  safety. 

I  repair,  then,  fellow-citizens,  to  the  post  you  have 
assigned  me.  With  experience  enough  in  subordinate  of 
fices  to  have  seen  the  difficulties  of  this,  the  greatest  of 
all,  I  have  learnt  to  expect  that  it  will  rarely  fall  to  the 
lot  of  imperfect  man  to  retire  from  this  station  with  the 
reputation  and  the  favor  which  bring  him  into  it.  With 
out  pretensions  to  that  high  confidence  you  reposed  in 
our  first  and  great  revolutionary  character,  whose  pre 
eminent  services  had  entitled  him  to  the  first  place  in  his 
country's  love,  and  destined  for  him  the  fairest  pao-e  in 
the  volume  of  faithful  history,  I  ask  so  much  confidence 
only  as  may  give  firmness  and  effect  to  the  legal  admin 
istration  of  your  affairs.  I  shall  often  go  wrong  through 
defect  of  judgment.  When  right,  I  shall  often  he  thought 
wrong  by  those  whose  positions  will  not  command  a  view 
of  the  whole  ground.  I  ask  your  indulgence  for  my  own 
errors,  which  will  never  be  intentional;  and  your  sup 


51 

port  against  the  errors  of  others,  who  may  condem  what 
they  \\  ould  not,  if  seen  in  all  its  parts.  The  approbation 
implied  by  your  suffrage  is  a  consolation  to  me  for  the 
past ;  and  mv  future  solicitude  will  be,  to  retain  the  good 
opinion  of  those  who  have  bestowed  it  in  advance,  to 
conciliate  that  of  others  by  doing  them  all  the  good  in  my 
power,  and  to  be  instrumental  to  the  happiness  and  free 
dom  of  all. 

Relying,  then,  on  the  patronage  of  your  good  will,  I 
advance  with  obedience  to  the  work,  ready  to  relire  from 
it  wheneveryou  become  sensible  how  much  better  choice* 
it  is  in  your  power  to  make.  And  may  that  infinite  Pow 
er  which  rules  the  destinies  of  the  universe,  lead  our 
councils  to  what  is  best,  and  give  them  a  favorable  issue 
for  your  peace  and  prosperity. 


DECEMBER  8,  1801. 

SIR:  The  circumstances  under  which  we  find  our 
selves  at  this  place  rendering  inconvenient  the  mode 
heretofore  practised,  of  making  by  personal  address  the 
first  communication  between  the  legislative  and  executive 
branches,  I  have  adopted  that  by  message,  as  used  on  all 
subsequent  occasions  through  the  session.  In  doing  this, 
I  have  had  principal  regard  to  the  inconvenience  of  the 
legislature,  to  the  economy  of  their  time,  to  their  relief 
from  the  embarrassment  of  immediate  answers  on  subjects 
not  yet  fully  before  them,  and  to  the  benefits  thence  result 
ing  to  the  public  affairs.  Trusting  that  a  procedure  found 
ed  in  these  motives  will  meet  their  approbation,  I  beg 
leave,  through  you,  sir,  to  communicate  the  enclosed 
message,  with  the  documents  accompanying  it,  to  the 
honorable  the  Senate,  and  pray  you  to  accept,  for  your 
self  and  them,  the  homage  of  my  high  respect  and  con 
sideration 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 

The  Hon.  the 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  SENATE. 


52  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

JEFFERSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE, 

DECEMBER  8,  1801. 

Fellow-citize.ns  of  the  Senate, 

and  House,  of  Representatives : 

It  is  a  circumstance  of  sincere  gratification  to  me  that, 
on  meeting  the  great  council  of  our  nation,  I  am  able  to 
announce  to  them,  on  grounds  of  reasonable  certainty, 
that  the  wars  and  troubles  which  have  for  so  many  years 
afflicted  our  sister-nations,  have  at  length  come  to  an  end, 
and  that  the  communications  of  peace  and  commerce  are 
once  more  opening  among  them.  Whilst  we  devoutly  re 
turn  thanks  to  the  beneficent  Being  who  has  been  pleased 
to  breathe  into  them  the  spirit  of  conciliation  and  forgive 
ness,  we  are  bound,  with  peculiar  gratitude,  to  be  thank 
ful  to  him  that  our  own  peace  has  been  preserved  through 
so  perilous  a  season,  and  ourselves  permitted  quietly  to 
cultivate  the  earth,  and  to  practise  and  improve  those  arts 
which  tend  to  increase  our  comforts.  The  assurances  in 
deed,  of  friendly  disposition,  received  from  all  the  powers 
with  whom  we  have  principal  relations,  had  inspired  a 
confidence  that  our  peace  with  them  would  not  have  been 
disturbed.  But  a  cessation  of  irregularities  which  had  af 
fected  the  commerce  of  neutral  nations,  and  of  the  irrita 
tions  and  injuries  produced  by  them,  cannot  but  add  to 
this  confidence,  and  strengthens,  at  the  same  time,  the 
hope  that  wrongs  committed  on  unoffending  friends,  un 
der  a  pressure  of  circumstances,  will  now  be  reviewed 
with  candor,  and  will  be  considered  as  founding  just 
claims  of  retribution  for  the  past,  and  new  assurances  for 
the  future. 

Among  our  Indian  neighbors,  also,  a  spirit  of  peace  and 
friendship  generally  prevails:  and  I  am  happy  to  inform 
you  that  the  continued  efforts  to  introduce  among  them 
the  implements  and  the  practice  of  husbandry  and  of  the 
household  arts,  have  not  been  without  success  ;  that  they 
are  becoming  more  and  more  sensible  of  the  superiority 
of  this  dependence  for  clothing  and  subsistence,  over  the 
precarious  resources  of  hunting  and  fishing;  and  already 


JKFFERSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  53 

we  are  able  to  announce  that,  instead  of  that  constant  di 
minution  of  their  numbers,  produced  by  their  wars  and 
their  wants,  some  of  them  begin  to  experience  an  increase 
of  population. 

To  this  state  of  general  peace  with  which  we  have 
been  blessed,  one  only  exception  exists.  Tripoli,  the  least 
considerable  of  the  Barbary  states,  had  come  forward  with 
demands  unfounded  either  in  right  or  in  compact,  and  had 
permitted  itself  to  denounce  war,  on  our  failure  to  comply 
before  a  given  day.  The  style  of  the  demand  admitted 
but  one  answer.  I  sent  a  small  squadron  of  frigates  into 
the  Mediterranean,  with  assurances  to  that  power  of  our 
sincere  desire  to  remain  in  peace;  but  with  orders  to 
protect  our  commerce  against  the  threatened  attack.  The 
measure  was  seasonable  and  salutary.  The  Bey  had  al 
ready  declared  war.  His  cruisers  were  out.  Two  had 
arrived  at  Gibralter.  Our  commerce  in  the  Mediterranean 
was  blockaded,  and  that  of  the  Atlantic  in  peril.  The 
arrival  of  our  squadron  dispelled  the  danger.  One  of  the 
Tripolitan  cruisers,  having  fallen  in  with  and  engaged 
the  small  schooner  Enterprise,  commanded  by  Lieutenant 
Sterret,  whiith  had  crone  as  a  tender  to  our  larger  vessels, 
was  captured  after  a  heavy  slaughter  of  her  men,  without 
the  loss  of  a  single  one  on  our  part.  The  bravery  exhi 
bited  by  our  citizens  on  that  element  will,  I  trust,  be  a 
testimony  to  the  world  that  it  is  not  the  want  of  that  vir 
tue  which  makes  us  seek  their  peace,  but  a  conscientious 
desire  to  direct  the  energies  of  our  nation  to  the  multipli 
cation  of  the  human  race,  and  not  to  its  destruction.  Un 
authorized  by  the  constitution,  without  the  sanction  of 
Congress,  to  go  beyond  the  line  of  defence,  the  vessel, 
being  disabled  from  committing  further  hostilities,  was 
liberated  with  its  crew.  The  legislature  will  doubtless 
consider  whether,  by  authorizing  measures  of  offence 
also,  they  will  place  our  force  on  an  equal  footing  with 
that  of  its  adversaries.  I  communicate  all  material  infor 
mation  on  this  subject,  that  in  the  exercise  of  this  impor 
tant  function  confided  by  the  constitution  to  the  legisla 
ture  exclusively,  their  judgment  may  form  itself  on  a 
knowledge  and  consideration  of  every  circumstance  of 
weight. 

5* 


54  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

I  wish  I  could  say  that  our  situation  with  all  the  other 
Barhary  states  was  entirely  satisfactory.  Discovering 
that  some  delays  had  taken  place  in  the  performance  of 
certain  articles  stipulated  by  us,  I  thought  it  my  duty,  by 
immediate  measures  for  fulfilling  them,  to  vindicate  to 
ourselves  the  right  of  considering  the  effect  of  departure 
from  stipulation  on  their  side.  From  the  papers  which 
will  be  laid  before  you,  you  will  be  enabled  to  judge  whe 
ther  our  treaties  are  regarded  by  them  as  fixing  at  all  the 
measure  of  their  demands,  or  as  guarding  from  the  cxei 
cise  offeree  our  vessels  within  their  power;  and  to  con 
sider  how  far  it  will  be  safe  and  expedient  to  leave  oaraf- 
fairs  with  them  in  their  present  posture. 

I  lay  before  you  the  result  of  the  census  lately  taken 
of  our  inhabitants,  to  a  conformity  with  which  we  are 
now  to  reduce  the  ensuing  ratio  of  representation  and 
taxation.  You  will  perceive  that  the  increase  of  num 
bers,  during  the  last  ten  years,  proceeding  in  geometrical 
ratio,  promises  a  duplication  in  little  more  than  twenty- 
two  years.  We  contemplate  this  rapid  growth,  and  the 
prospect  it  holds  up  to  us,  not  with  a  view  to  the  injuries 
it  may  enable  us  to  do  to  others  in  some  future  day,  but 
to  the  settlement  of  the  extensive  country  still  remaining 
vacant  within  our  limits,  to  the  multiplication  of  men  sus 
ceptible  of  happiness,  educated  in  the  love  of  order,  ha. 
biiuated  to  self-government,  and  valuing  its  blessings 
above  all  price. 

Other  circumstances,  combined  with  the  increase  ol 
numbers,  have  produced  an  augmentation  of  revenue 
arising  from  consumption,  in  a  ratio  far  beyond  that  oi 
population  alone;  and,  though  the  changes  of  foreign 
relations  now  taking  place,  so  desirable  for  the  world, 
may  for  a  season  affect  this  branch  of  revenue,  yet,  weigh 
ing  all  probabilities  of  expense,  as  well  as  of  income, 
there  is  reasonable  ground  of  confidence  that  we  may 
now  safely  dispense  with  all  the  internal  taxes — compre 
hending  excise,  stamps,  auctions,  licenses,  carriages,  and 
refined  sugars;  to  which  the  postage  on  newspapers  may 
be  added,  to  facilitate  the  progress  of  information;  and 
that  the  remaining  sources  of  revenue  will  be  sufficient 
to  provide  for  the  support  of  government,  to  pny  the  inte- 


JEFFERSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  55 

reet  of  the  public  debts,  and  to  discharge  the  principals 
within  shorter  periods  than  the  laws  of  the  general  expec 
tation  had  contemplated.  War,  indeed,  and  untoward 
events,  may  change  this  prospect  of  things,  and  call  for 
expenses  which  the  imposts  could  not  meet.  But  sound 
principles  will  not  justify  our  taxing  the  industry  of  our 
fellow-citizens  to  accumulate  treasure  for  wars  to  happen 
we  know  not  when,  and  which  mightnotperhaps  happen, 
but  from  the  temptations  offered  by  that  treasure. 

These  views,  however,  of  reducing  our  burdens,  are 
formed  on  the  expectation  that  a  sensible,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  a  salutary  reduction  may  take  place  in  our  ha 
bitual  expenditures.  For  this  purpose,  those  of  the  civil 
government,  the  army,  and  navy,  will  need  revisal. 
When  we  consider  that  this  government  is  charged  with 
the  external  and  mutual  relations  only  of  these  states; 
that  the  states  themselves  have  principal  care  of  our  per 
sons,  our  property,  and  our  reputation,  constituting  the 
great  field  of  human  concerns,  we  may  well  doubt  whe 
ther  our  organization  is  not  too  complicated,  too  expen 
sive;  whether  offices  and  officers  have  not  been  multiplied 
unnecessarily,  and  sometimes  injuriously  to  the  service 
they  were  meant  to  promote.  I  will  cause  to  be  laid 
before  you,  an  essay  towards  a  statement  of  those  who, 
under  public  employment  of  various  kinds,  draw  money 
from  the  treasury,  or  from  our  citizens.  Time  has  not 
permitted  a  perfect  enumeration,  the  ramifications  of  of 
fice  being  too  multiplied  and  remote  to  be  completely 
traced  in  a  first  trial.  Among  those  who  are  dependent 
on  executive  discretion,  I  have  begun  the  reduction  of 
what  was  deemed  necessary.  The  expenses  of  diplomatic 
agency  have  been  considerably  diminished.  The  inspec 
tors  of  internal  revenue,  who  were  found  to  obstruct  the 
accountability  of  the  institution,  have  been  discontinued. 
Several  agencies,  created  by  executive  authority,  on  sala 
ries  fixed  by  that  also,  have  been  suppressed,  and  should 
suggest  the  expediency  of  regulating  that  power  by  law, 
so  as  to  subject  its  exercises  to  legislative  inspection  and 
sanction.  Other  reformations  of  the  same  kind  will  be 
pursued  with  that  caution  which  is  requisite,  in  removing 
useless  things,  not  to  injure^  what  is  retained.  But  the 


ftQ  THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

great  mass  of  public  offices  is  established  by  law,  and 
therefore  by  law  alone  can  be  abolished.  Should  the  le 
gislature  think  it  expedient  to  pass  this  roll  in  review,  and 
try  all  its  parts  by  the  test  of  public  utility,  they  may  be 
assured  of  every  aid  and  light  which  executive  informa 
tion  can  yield.  Considering  the  general  tendency  to  mul 
tiply  offices  and  dependencies,  and  to  increase  expense  to 
the  .ultimate  term  of  burden  which  the  citizen  can  bear,  it 
behoves  us  to  avail  ourselves  of  every  occasion  which  pre 
sents  itself  for  takingoff  the  surcharge  ;  that  it  never  may 
be  seen  here  that,  after  leaving  to  labor  the  smallest  por 
tion  of  its  earnings  on  which  it  can  subsist,  government 
shall  itself  consume  the  whole  residue  of  what  it  was  in 
stituted  to  guard. 

In  our  care,  too,  of  the  public  contributions  intrusted 
to  our  direction,  it  would  be  prudent  to  multiply  barriers 
against  their  dissipation,  by  appropriating  specific  sums  to 
every  specific  purpose  susceptible  of  definition  ;  by  dis 
allowing  all  applications  of  money  varying  from  the  ap 
propriation  in  object,  or  transcending  it  in  amount;  by  re 
ducing  the  undefined  field  of  contingencies,  and  thereby 
circumscribing  discretionary  powers  over  money ;  and 
by  bringing  back  to  a  single  department  all  accountabili 
ties  for  money,  where  the  examinations  may  be  prompt, 
efficacious,  and  uniform. 

An  account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  the  last 
year,  as  prepared  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  will, 
as  usual,  be  laid  before  you.  The  success  which  has  at 
tended  the  late  sales  of  the  public  lands  shows  that,  with 
attention,  they  may  be  made  an  important  source  of  re 
ceipt.  Among  the  payments,  those  made  in  discharge  of 
the  principal  and  interest  of  the  national  debt,  will  show 
that  the  public  faith  has  been  exactly  maintained.  To 
these  will  be  added  an  estimate  of  appropriations  neces 
sary  for  the  ensuing  year.  This  last  will,  of  course,  be 
effected  by  such  modifications  of  the  system  of  expense 
as  you  shall  think  proper  to  adopt. 

A  statement  has  been  formed  by  the  Secretary  of  War, 
on  mature  consideration,  of  all  the  posts  and  stations 
where  garrisons  will  be  expedient,  and  of  the  number  of 
men  requisite  for  each  garrison.  The  whole  amount  is 


JEFFERSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  57 

considerably  short  of  the  present  military  establishment. 
For  the  surplus  no  particular  use  can  be  pointed  out. 
For  defence  against  invasion  their  number  is  as  nothing; 
nor  is  it  conceived  needful  or  safe  that  a  standing  army 
should  be  kept  up  in  time  of  peace  for  that  purpose. 
Uncertain  as  we  must  ever  be  of  the  particular  point  in 
our  circumference  where  an  enemy  may  choose  to  invade 
us,  the  only  force  which  can  be  ready  at  every  point,  and 
competent  to  oppose  them,  is  the  body  of  neighboring 
citizens  as  formed  into  a  militia.  On  these,  collected 
from  the  parts  most  convenient,  in  numbers  proportioned 
to  the  invading  foe,  it  is  best  to  rely,  not  only  to  meet  the 
first  attack,  but,  if  it  threatens  to  be  permanent,  to  main 
tain  the  defence  until  regulars  may  be  engaged  to  relieve 
them.  These  considerations  render  it  important  that  we 
should,  at  every  session,  continue  to  amend  the  defects 
which  from  time  to  time  show  themselves  in  the  laws  for 
regulating  the  militia,  until  they  are  sufficiently  perfect; 
nor  should  we  now  or  at  any  time  separate  until  we  can 
say  we  have  done  every  thing  for  the  militia  which  we 
could  do  were  an  enemy  at  our  door. 

The  provision  of  military  stores  on  hand  will  be  laid 
before  you,  that  you  may  judge  of  the  additions  still  re 
quisite. 

With  respect  to  the  extent  to  which  our  naval  prepara 
tions  should  be  carried,  some  difference  of  opinion  may 
be  expected  to  appear;  but  just  attention  to  the  circum 
stances  of  every  part  of  the  Union  will  doubtless  recon 
cile  all.  A  small  force  will  probably  continue  to  be  want 
ed  for  actual  service  in  the  Mediterranean.  Whatever  an 
nual  sum  beyond  that  you  may  think  proper  to  appro 
priate  for  naval  preparations,  would  perhaps  be  better 
employed  in  providing  those  articles  which  may  be  kept 
without  waste  or  consumption,  and  be  in  readiness  when 
any  exigency  calls  them  into  use.  Progress  has  been 
made,  as  will  appear  by  papers  now  communicated,  in 
providing  materials  for  seventy-four  gun  ships  as  directed 
by  law. 

How  far  the  authority  given  by  the  legislature  for  pro 
curing  and  establishing  sites  for  naval  purposes  has  been 
perfectly  understood  and  pursued  in  the  execution,  admits 


58  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

of  some  doubt.  A  statement  of  the  expenses  already  in 
curred  on  that  subject  is  now  laid  before  you.  I  have,  in 
certain  cases,  suspended  or  slackened  these  expenditures, 
that  the  legislature  might  determine  whether  so  many 
yards  are  necessary  as  have  been  contemplated.  The 
works  at  this  place  are  among  those  permitted  to  go  on ; 
and  h' ve  of  the  seven  frigates  directed  to  be  laid  up,  have 
been  brought  and  laid  up  here,  where,  besides  the  safety 
of  their  position,  they  are  und^r  the  eye  of  the  executive 
administration,  as  well  as  of  its  agents,  and  where  your 
selves  also  will  be  guided  by  your  own  view  in  the  legis 
lative  provisions  respecting  them  which  may  from  time  to 
time  be  necessary.  They  are  preserved  in  such  condi 
tion,  as  well  the  vessels  as  whatever  belongs  to  them,  as 
to  be  at  all  times  ready  for  sea  on  a  short  war.iing.  Two 
others  are  yet  to  be  laid  up  so  soon  as  they  shall  have  re 
ceived  the  repairs  requisite  to  put  them  also  into  sound 
condition.  As  a  superintending  officer  will  be  necessary 
at  each  yard,  his  duties  and  emoluments,  hitherto  fixed  by 
the  executive,  will  be  a  more  proper  subject  for  legisla 
tion.  A  communication  will  also  be  made  of  our  pro 
gress  in  the  execution  of  the  law  respecting  the  vessels 
directed  to  be  sold. 

Tho  fortifications  of  our  harbors,  more  or  less  ad 
vanced,  present  considerations  of  great  difficulty.  While 
some  of  them  are  on  a  scale  sufficiently  proportioned  to 
the  advantages  of  their  position,  to  the  efficacy  of  their 
protection,  and  the  importance  of  the  points  within  it, 
others  are  so  extensive,  will  cost  so  much  in  their  first 
erection,  so  much  in  their  maintenance,  and  require  such 
a  force  to  garrison  them,  as  to  make  it  questionable  what 
is  best  now  to  be  done.  A  statement  of  those  commenced 
or  projected,  of  the  expenses  already  incurred,  and  esti 
mates  of  their  future  cost,  so  far  as  can  be  foreseen,  shall 
be  laid  before  you,  that  you  may  be  enabled  to  judge 
whether  any  attention  is  necessary  in  the  laws  respecting 
this  subject. 

Agriculture,  manufactures,  commerce,  and  navigation, 
the  four  pillars  of  our  prosperity,  are  then  most  thriving 
when  left  most  free  to  individual  enterprise.  Protection 
from  casual  embarrassments,  however,  may  sometimes  be 


JEFFERSON  S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  59 

seasonably  interposed.  If,  in  the  course  of  your  observa 
tions  or  inquiries,  they  should  appear  to  need  any  aid 
within  the  limits  of  our  constitutional  powers,  your  sense 
of  their  importance  is  a  sufficient  assurance  they  will  oc 
cupy  your  attention.  We  cannot,  indeed,  but  all  feel  an 
anxious  solicitude  for  the  difficulties  under  which  our  car 
rying  trade  will  soon  be  placed.  How  far  it  can  be  re 
lieved,  otherwise  than  by  time,  is  a  subject  of  important 
consideration. 

The  judiciary  system  of  the  United  States,  and  espe 
cially  that  portion  of  it  recently  erected,  will  of  course 
present  itself  to  the  contemplation  of  Congress  ;  and  that 
they  may  be  able  to  juJge  of  the  proportion  which  the 
institution  bears  to  the  business  it  has  to  perform,  I  have 
caused  to  be  procured  from  the  several  states,  and  now 
lay  before  Congress,  an  exact  statement  of  all  the  causes 
decided  since  the  first  establishment  of  the  courts,  and  of 
those  which  were  depending  when  additional  courts  and 
judges  were  brought  in  to  their  aid. 

And  while  on  the  judiciary  organization,  it  will  be 
worthy  your  consideration,  whether  the  protection  of  the 
inestimable  institution  of  juries  has  been  extended  to  all 
the  cases  involving  the  security  of  our  persons  and  pro 
perty.  Their  impartial  selection  also  being  essential  to 
their  value,  we  ought  further  to  consider  whether  that  is 
sufficiently  secured  in  those  states  where  they  are  named 
by  a  marshal  depending  on  executive  will,  or  designated 
by  the  court,  or  by  officers  dependent  on  them. 

I  cannot  omit  recommending  a  revisal  of  the  laws  on 
the  subject  of  naturalization.  Considering  the  ordinary 
chances  of  human  life,  a  denial  of  citizenship  under  a 
residence  of  fourteen  years,  is  a  denial  to  a  great  propor 
tion  of  those  who  ask  it;  and  controls  a  policy  pursued, 
from  their  first  settlement,  by  many  of  these  states,  and 
still  believed  of  consequence  to  their  prosperity.  And 
shall  we  refuse  the  unhappy  fugitives  from  distress  that 
hospitality  which  the  savages  of  the  wilderness  extended 
to  our  fathers  arriving  in  this  land  ?  Shall  oppressed  hu 
manity  find  no  asylum  on  this  globe?  The  constitution, 
indeed,  has  wisely  provided  that,  for  admission  to  certain 
offices  of  important  trust,  a  residence  shall  be  required 


60  THE  TRUE  IlEl'UBLICAX. 

sufficient  to  develope  character  and  design.  But  might 
not  the  general  character  and  capabilities  of  a  citizen  be 
safely  communicated  to  every  one  manifesting  a  bona  fide 
purpose  of  embarking  his  life  and  fortunes  permanently 
with  us  ?  with  restrictions,  perhaps,  to  guard  against  frau 
dulent  usurpation  of  our  flag ;  an  abuse  which  brings  so 
much  embarrassment  and  loss  on  the  genuine  citizen,  and 
so  much  danger  to  the  nation  of  being  involved  in  war, 
that  no  endeavor  should  be  spared  to  detect  and  suppress 
it. 

These,  fellow-citizens,  are  the  matters  respecting  the 
state  of  the  nation  which  I  have  thought  of  importance 
to  be  submitted  to  your  consideration  at  this  time.  Some 
others  of  less  moment,  or  not  yet  ready  for  communica 
tion,  will  be  the  subject  of  separate  messages.  I  am  hap 
py  in  this  opportunity  of  committing  the  arduous  affairs 
of  our  government  to  the  collected  wisdom  of  the  Union. 
Nothing  shall  be  wanting  on  my  part,  to  inform,  as  far  as 
in  my  power,  the  legislative  judgment,  nor  to  carry  that 
judgment  into  faithful  execution.  The  prudence  and 
temperance  of  your  discussions  will  promote,  within  your 
own  walls,  that  conciliation  which  so  much  befriends 
rational  conclusion  ;  and  by  its  example  will  encourage 
among  our  constituents  that  progress  of  opinion  which  is 
tending  to  unite  them  in  object  and  will.  That  all  should 
be  satisfied  with  any  one  order  of  things  is  not  to  be  ex 
pected  ;  but  I  indulge  the  pleasing  persuasion  that  the 
great  body  of  our  citizens  will  cordially  concur  in  honest 
and  disinterested  efforts,  which  have  for  their  object  to 
preserve  the  general  and  state  governments  in  their  con 
stitutional  form  and  equilibrium ;  to  maintain  peace 
abroad,  and  order  and  obedience  to  the  laws  at  home  ;  to 
establish  principles  and  practices  of  administration  favor 
able  to  the  security  of  liberty  and  property,  and  to  reduce 
expenses  to  what  is  necessary  for  the  useful  purposes  of 
government. 


01 


MADISON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS, 
MARCH  4,  1809. 

Unwilling  to  depart  from  examples  of  the  most  revered 
authority,  1  avail  myself  ot  the  occasion  now  presented, 
to  express  the  profound  impression  made  on  me  by  the 
call  of  my  country  to  the  station,  to  the  duties  of  which  I 
am  about  to  pledge  myself  by  the  most  solemn  of  sanc 
tions.  So  distinguished  a  mark  of  confidence,  proceed 
ing  from  the  deliberate  and  tranquil  suffrage  of  a  free  and 
virtuous  nation,  would,  under  any  circumstances,  have 
commanded  my  gratitude  and  devoiion,  as  well  as  filled 
me  with  an  awful  sense  of  the  trust  to  be  assumed.  Un 
der  the  various  circumstances  which  give  peculiar  solem 
nity  to  the  existing  period,  I  feel  that  both  the  honor  and 
the  responsibility  allotted  to  me  are  inexpressibly  en 
hanced. 

The  present  situation  of  the  world  is  indeed  without  a 
parallel;  and  that  of  our  own  country  full  of  difficulties. 
The  pressure  of  these  too  is  the  more  severely  felt,  be 
cause  they  have  fallen  upon  us  at  a  moment  when  the  na 
tional  prosperity  being  at  a  height  not  before  attained, 
the  contrast  resulting  from  the  change  has  been  rendered 
the  more  striking.  Under  the  benign  influence  of  our 
republican  institutions,  and  the  maintenance  of  peace 
with  all  nations,  whilst  so  many  of  them  were  engaged  in 
bloody  and  wasteful  wars,  the  fiuits  of  a  just  policy  were 
enjoyed  in  an  unrivalled  growth  of  our  faculties  and  re 
sources.  Proofs  of  this  were  seen  in  the  improvements 
of  agriculture  ;  in  the  successful  enterprises  of  commerce  ; 
in  the  progress  of  manufactures  and  useful  arts  ;  in  tho 
increase  of  the  public  revenue,  and  the  use  made  of  it  in 
reducing  the  public  debt ;  and  in  the  valuable  works  and 
establishments  every  where  multiplying  over  the  face  of 
our  land. 

It  is  a  precious  reflection  that  the  transition  from  this 
prosperous  condition  of  our  country,  to  the  scene  which 
hos  for  some  time  been  distressing  us,  is  not  chargeable 
on  any  unwarrantable  views,  nor,  as  I  trust,  on  any  invol- 


62  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

im tary  errors  in  the  public  councils.  Indulging  no  pas- 
sions  which  tresspass  on  the  rights  or  repose  of  other  na 
tions,  it  has  been  the  true  glory  of  the  United  States  to 
cultivate  peace  by  observing  justice  ;  and  to  entitle  them 
selves  to  the  respect  of  the  nations  at  war,  by  fulfilling 
their  neutral  obligations  with  the  most  scrupulous  impar 
tiality.  If  there  be  candor  in  the  world,  the  truth  of 
these  assertions  will  notbe  questioned;  posterity,  at  least, 
will  do  justice  to  them. 

This  unexceptionaWe  course  could  not  avail  against  the 
injustice  and  violence  of  the  belligerent  powers.  In  their 
rage  against  each  other,  or  impelled  by  more  direct 
motives,  principles  of  retaliation  have  been  introduced, 
equally  contrary  to  universal  reason  and  acknowledged 
law.  How  long  their  arbitrary  edicts  will  be  continued, 
in  spite  of  the  demonstrations  that  not  even  a  pretext  for 
them  has  been  given  by  the  United  States,  and  of  the  fair 
and  liberal  attempt  to  induce  a  revocation  of  them,  can 
not  be  anticipated.  Assuring  myself  that,  under  every 
vicissitude,  the  determined  spirit  and  united  councils  of 
the  nation  will  be  safeguards  to  its  honor  and  its  essential 
interests,  I  repair  to  the  post  assigned  me  with  no  olher 
discouragement  than  what  springs  from  my  own  inade 
quacy  to  its  high  duties.  If  I  do  not  sink  under  the 
weight  of  this  deep  conviction,  it  is  because  I  find  some 
support  in  a  consciousness  of  the  purposes,  and  a  confi 
dence  in  the  principles,  which  I  bring  with  me  into  this 
arduous  service. 

To  cherish  peace  and  friendly  intercourse  with  all  na 
tions  having  corresponding  dispositions  ;  to  maintain  sin 
cere  neutrality  towards  belligerent  nations;  to  prefer  in 
all  cases  amicable  discussion  and  reasonable  accommoda 
tion  of  differences  to  a  decision  of  them  by  an  appeal  to 
arms  ;  to  exclude  foreign  intrigues  and  foreign  partiali 
ties,  so  degrading  to  all  countries,  and  so  baneful  to  free 
ones;  to  foster  a  spirit  of  independence,  too  just  to  in 
vade  the  rights  of  others,  too  proud  to  surrender  our  own, 
too  liberal  to  indulge  unworthy  prejudices  ourselves,  and 
too  elevated  not  to  look  down  upon  them  in  others ;  to 
hold  the  union  of  the  states  as  the  basis  of  their  peace 
and  happiness ;  to  support  the  constitution,  which  is  the 


MADISON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  63 

cement  of  the  Union,  as  well  in  its  limitations  as  in  its 
authorities  ;  to  respect  the  rights  and  authorities  reserved 
to  the  states  and  to  the  people,  as  equally  incorporated 
with,  and  essential  to  the  success  of,  the  general  system; 
to  avoid  the  slightest  interference  with  the  rights  of  con 
science  or  the  functions  of  religion,  so  wisely  exempted 
from  civil  jurisdiction;  to  preserve  in  their  full  energy, 
the  other  salutary  provisions  in  behalf  of  private  and  per 
sonal  rights,  and  of  the  freedom  of  the  press;  to  observe 
economy  in  public  expenditures;  to  liberate  the  public 
resources  by  an  honorable  discharge  of  the  public  debts; 
to  keep  within  the  requisite  limits  a  standing  military 
force,  always  remembering  that  an  armed  and  trained 
militia  is  the  firmest  bulwark  of  republics — that  without 
standing  armies  their  liberty  can  i  ever  be  in  danger,  nor 
with  large  ones  safe;  to  promote,  by  authorized  means, 
improvements  friendly  to  agriculture,  to  manufactures, 
and  to  external  as  well  as  internal  commerce;  to  favor,  in 
like  manner,  the  advancement  of  science  and  the  diffu 
sion  of  information  as  the  best  aliment  to  true  liberty;  to 
carry  on  the  benevolent  plans  which  have  been  so  merito 
riously  applied  to  the  conversion  of  our  aboriginal  neigh 
bors  from  the  degradation  and  wretchedness  of  savage 
life,  to  a  participation  of  the  improvements  of  which  the 
human  mind  and  manners  are  susceptible  in  a  civilized 
state :  as  far  as  sentiments  and  intentions  such  as  these 
can  aid  the  fulfilment  of  my  duty,  they  will  be  a  resource 
which  cannot  fail  me. 

It  is  my  good  fortune,  moreover,  to  have  the  path  in 
which  I  am  to  tread,  lighted  by  examples  of  illustrious 
services,  successfully  rendered  in  the  most  try  ing  difficul 
ties,  by  those  who  have  marched  before  me.  Of  those 
of  my  immediate  predecessor  it  might  least  become  me 
here  to  speak.  I  may,  however,  be  pardoned  for  not  sup 
pressing  the  sympathy  with  which  my  heart  is  full,  in  the 
rich  reward  he  enjoys  in  the  benedictions  of  a  beloved 
country,  gratefully  bestowed  for  exalted  talents,  zealously 
devoted,  through  a  long  career,  to  the  advancement  of  its 
highest  interest  and  happiness. 

But  the  source  to  which  I  look  for  the  aids  which  alone 
can  supply  my  deficiencies,  is  in  the  well-tried  intelligence 


64  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

and  virtue  ot  my  fellow-citizens,  and  in  the  counsels  of 
those  representing  them  in  the  best  other  depar:ments 
associated  in  the  care  of  the  national  interests.  In  these 
my  confidence  will  under  every  difficulty  be  placed,  next 
to  that  in  which  we  have  all  been  encouraged  to  feel  in 
the  guardianship  and  guidance  of  that  Almighty  Being 
whose  power  regulates  the  destiny  of  nations,  whose  bless 
ings  have  been  so  conspicuously  dispensed  to  this  rising 
republic,  and  to  whom  we  are  bound  to  address  our  de 
vout  gratitude  for  the  past,  as  well  as  our  fervent  suppli 
cations  and  best  hopes  for  the  future. 


MADISON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE, 
NOVEMBER  29,  1809. 

Fellow-citizens  of  the  Senate, 

and  House  of  Representatives: 

At  the  period  of  our  last  meeting,  I  had  the  satisfac 
tion  of  communicating  an  adjustment  with  one  of  the 
principal  belligerent  nations,  highly  important  in  itself, 
and  still  more  so,  as  presaging  a  more  extended  accom 
modation.  It  is  with  deep  C6iicern  I  am  now  to  inform 
you,  that  the  favorable  prospect  has  been  overclouded  by 
a  refusal  of  the  British  government  to  abide  by  the  act  of 
its  minister  plenipotentiary,  and  by  its  ensuing  policy  to 
wards  the  United  States,  as  seen  through  the  communica 
tions  of  the  minister  sent  to  replace  him. 

Whatever  pleas  may  be  urged  for  a  disavowal  of  en 
gagements  formed  by  diplomatic  functionaries,  in  cases 
where,  by  the  terms  of  the  engagements,  a  mutual  ratifi 
cation  is  reserved;  or  where  notice  at  the  time  may  have 
been  given  of  a  departure  from  instructions;  or  in  extra 
ordinary  cases,  essentially  violating  the  principles  of  equi 
ty:  a  disavowal  could  not  have  been  apprehended  in  a 
case  where  no  such  notice  or  violation  existed;  where 
no  such  ratification  was  reserved  ;  and,  more  especially, 


65 

where,  as  is  now  in  proof,  an  engagement,  to  be  executed 
without  any  such  ratification,  was  contemplated  by  the 
instructions  given,  and  where  it  had,  with  good  faith,  been 
carried  into  immediate  execution  on  the  part  of  the  Uni 
ted  States. 

These  considerations  not  having  restrained  the  British 
government  from  disavowing  the  arrangement,  by  virtue 
of  which  its  orders  in  council  were  to  be  revoked,  and 
the  event  authorizing  the  renewal  of  commercial  inter 
course  having  thus  not  taken  place,  it  necessarily  became 
a  question  of  equal  urgency  and  importance,  whether  the 
act  prohibiting  that  intercourse  was  not  to  be  considered 
as  remaining  in  legal  force.  This  question  being,  after 
due  deliberation,  determined  in  the  affirmative,  a  procla 
mation  to  that  effect  was  issued.  It  could  not  but  hap 
pen,  however,  that  a  return  to  this  state  of  things,  from 
that  which  had  followed  an  execution  of  the  arrangement 
by  the  United  States,  would  involve  difficulties.  With  a 
view  to  diminish  these  as  much  as  possible,  the  instruc 
tions  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  now  laid  before 
you,  were  transmitted  to  the  collectors  of  the  several 
ports.  If,  in  permitiing  British  vessels  to  depart  without 
giving  bonds  not  to  proceed  to  their  own  ports,  it  should 
appear  that  the  tenor  of  legal  authority  has  not  been 
strictly  pursued,  it  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  anxious  desire 
which  was  felt  that  no  individuals  should  be  injured  by  so 
unforeseen  an  occurrence:  and  I  rely  on  the  regard  of 
Congress  for  the  equitable  itnerests  of  our  own  citizens, 
to  adopt  whatever  further  provisions  may  be  found  requi 
site  for  a  general  remission  of  penalties  involuntarily  in 
curred. 

The  recall  of  the  disavowed  minister  having  been  fol 
lowed  by  the  appointment  of  a  successor,  hopes  were 
indulged  that  the  new  mission  would  contribute  to  allevi 
ate  the  disappointment  which  had  been  produced,  and  to 
remove  the  causes  which  had  so  long  embarrassed  the 
good  understanding  of  the  two  nations.  It  could  not  be 
doubted,  that  it  would  at  least  be  charged  with  concilia 
tory  explanations  of  the  steps  which  had  been  taken,  and 
with  proposals  to  be  substituted  for  the  rejected  arrange 
ment.  Reasonable  and  universal  as  this  expectation  was, 
C* 


DO  THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

it  also  has  not  been  fulfilled.  From  the  first  official  dis 
closures  of  the  new  minister,  it  was  found  that  he  had  re 
ceived  no  authority  to  enter  into  explanations  relative  to 
either  branch  of  the  arrangement  disavowed,  nor  any  au 
thority  to  substitute  proposals,  as  to  that  branch  whicn 
concerned  the  British  orders  in  council.  And  finally, 
that  his  proposals  with  respect  to  the  other  branch,  the 
attack  on  the  frigate  Chesapeake,  were  founded  on  a  pre 
sumption,  repeatedly  declared  to  be  inadmissible  by  the 
United  States,  that  the  first  step  towards  adjustment  was 
due  from  them;  the  proposals,  at  the  same  time, omitting 
even  a  reference  to  the  officer  answerable  for  the  murder 
ous  aggression,  and  asserting  a  claim  not  less  contrary  to 
the  British  laws  and  British  practice,  than  to  the  princi 
ples  and  obligations  of  the  United  States. 

The  correspondence  between  the  Department  of  State 
and  this  minister  will  show  how  unessentially  the  features 
presented  in  its  commencement  have  been  varied  in  its 
progress.  It  will  show,  also,  that,  forgetting  the  respect 
due  to  all  governments,  he  did  not  refrain  from  imputa 
tions  on  this,  which  required  that  no  further  communica 
tions  should  be  received  from  him.  The  necessity  of  this 
step  will  be  made  known  to  his  Britannic  majesty,  through 
the  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  in  Lon 
don.  And  it  would  indicate  a  want  of  the  confidence 
due  to  a  government  which  so  well  understands  and  ex 
acts  what  becomes  foreign  ministers  near  it,  not  to  infer 
that  the  misconduct  of  its  own  representative  will  be 
viewed  in  the  same  light  in  which  it  has  been  regarded 
here.  The  British  government  will  learn,  at  the  same 
time,  that  a  ready  attention  will  be  given  to  communica 
tions,  through  any  channel  which  may  be  substituted. 
It  will  be  happy,  if  the  change  in  this  respect  should  be 
accompanied  by  5  favorable  revision  of  the  unfriendly 
policy  which  has  oeen  so  long  pursued  towards  the  Uni 
ted  States. 

With  France,  the  other  belligerent,  whose  trespasses 
on  our  commercial  rights  have  long  been  the  subject  of 
our  just  remonstrances,  the  posture  of  our  relations  does 
not  correspond  with  the  measures  taken  on  the  part  of 
the  United  States  to  effect  a  favorable  change.  The  re 


MADISON  S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  67 

sirft  of  the  several  communications  made  to  her  govern 
ment,  in  pursuance  of  the  authorities  vested  by  Congress 
in  the  executive,  is  contained  in  the  correspondence  of 
our  minister  at  Paris  now  laid  before  you. 

By  some  of  the  other  belligerents,  although  professing 
just  and  amicable  dispositions,  injuries  materially  affect 
ing  our  commerce  have  not  been  duly  controlled  or  re 
pressed.  In  these  cases,  the  interpositions  deemed  proper 
on  our  part  have  not  been  omitted.  But  it  well  deserves 
the  consideration  of  the  legislature,  how  far  both  the  safe 
ty  and  honor  of  the  American  flag  may  be  consulted,  by 
adequate  provision  against  that  cerlusive  prostitution  of 
it  by  individuals,  unworthy  of  tie  ;«  nerican  name,  which 
has  so  much  favored  the  real  or  pretended  suspicions,  un 
der  which  the  honest  commerce  of  their  fellow-citizens 
has  suffered. 

In  relation  to  the  powers  on  the  coast  of  Barbary,  no 
thing  has  occurred  which  is  not  of  a  nature  rather  to  in 
spire  confidence  than  distrust,  as  to  the  continuance  of 
the  existing  amity.  With  our  Indian  neighbors,  the  just 
and  benevolent  system  continued  towards  them,  has  alsc 
preserved  peace,  and  is  more  and  more  advancing  habits 
favorable  to  their  civilization  and  happiness. 

From  a  statement  which  will  be  made  by  the  Secretary 
of  War,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  fortifications  on  our  mari 
time  frontier  are  in  many  of  the  ports  completed,  affording 
the  defence  which  was  contemplated;  and  that  a  further 
time  will  be  required  to  render  complete  the  works  in  the 
harbor  of  New  York,  and  in  some  other  places.  By  the 
enlargement  of  the  works,  and  the employmentof  a  great 
er  number  of  hands  at  the  public  armories,  the  supply  of 
small  arms,  of  an  improving  quality,  appears  to  be  annu 
ally  increasing  at  a  rate  that,  with  those  made  on  private 
contract,  may  be  expected  to  go  far  towards  providing  for 
the  public  exigency. 

The  act  of  Congress  providing  for  the  equipment  of 
our  vessels  of  war  having  been  fully  carried  into  execu 
tion,  I  refer  to  the  statement  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  for  the  information  which  may  be  proper  on  that 
subject.  To  that  statement  is  added  a  view  of  the  trans 
fers  of  appropriations,  authorized  by  the  act  of  the  scs- 


68  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

sion  preceding  the  last,  and  of  the  grounds  on  which  the 
transfers  were  made. 

Whatever  may  be  the  course  of  your  deliberations  on 
the  subject  of  our  military  establishments,  I  should  fail 
in  my  duty  in  not  recommending  to  your  serious  atten 
tion  the  importance  of  giving  to  our  militia,  the  great 
bulwark  of  our  security  and  resource  of  our  power,  an 
organization  the  best  adapted  to  eventual  situations,  for 
which  the  United  States  ought  to  be  prepared. 

The  sums  which  had  been  previously  accumulated  in 
the  treasury,  together  with  the  receipts  during  the  year 
ending  on  the  30th  of  Septembar  last,  (and  amounting  to 
more  than  nine  millions  of  dollars,)  have  enabled  us  to 
fulfil  all  our  engagements,  and  to  defray  the  current  ex 
penses  of  government,  without  recurring  to  any  loan.  But 
the  insecurity  of  our  commerce,  and  the  consequent  dimi 
nution  of  the  public  revenue,  will  probably  produce  a  de 
ficiency  in  the  receipts  of  the  ensuing  year,  for  which,  and 
for  other  details,  I  refer  to  the  statements  which  will  be 
transmitted  from  the  treasury. 

In  the  state  which  has  been  presented  of  our  affairs 
with  the  great  parties  to  a  disastrous  and  protracted  war, 
carried  on  in  a  mode  equally  injurious  and  unjust  to  the 
United  States  as  a  neutral  nation,  the  wisdom  of  the  na 
tional  legislature  will  be  again  summoned  to  the  impor 
tant  decision  on  the  alternatives  before  them.  That  these 
will  be  met  in  a  spirit  worthy  the  councils  of  a  nation 
conscious  both  of  its  rectitude  and  of  its  rights,  and 
careful  as  well  of  its  honor,  as  of  its  peace,  I  have  an  en 
tire  confidence.  And  that  the  result  will  be  stamped  by  a 
unanimity  becoming  the  occasion,  and  be  supported  by 
every  portion  of  our  citizens,  with  a  patriotism  enlight 
ened  and  invigorated  by  experience,  ought  as  little  to  be 
doubted. 

In  the  midst  of  the  wrongs  and  vexations  experienced 
from  external  causes,  there  is  much  room  for  congratula 
tion  on  the  prosperity  and  happiness  no  wing  from  our  sit 
uation  at  home.  The  blessing  of  health  has  never  been 
more  universal.  The  fruits  of  the  seasons,  though  in 
particular  articles  and  districts  short  of  their  usual  redun 
dancy,  are  more  than  sufficient  for  our  wants  and  our  com- 


IK4  (D  LE< 


MONROE'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  Ou 

forts.  The  face  of  our  country  every  where  presents  the 
evidence  of  laudable  enterprise,  of  extensive  capital,  and 
of  durable  improvement.  In  the  cultivation  of  the  mate 
rials,  arid  the  extension  of  useful  manufactures,  more  es 
pecially  in  the  general  application  to  household  fabrics,  we 
behold  a  rapid  diminution  of  our  dependence  on  foreign 
supplies.  Nor  is  it  unworth)'  of  reflection,  that  this  re 
volution  in  our  pursuits  and  habits  is  in  no  slight  degree 
a  consequence  of  those  impolitic  and  arbitrary  edicts,  by 
which  the  contending  nations,  in  endeavoring  each  of 
them  to  obstruct  our  trade  with  the  other,  have  so  far 
abridged  our  means  of  procuring  the  productions  and 
manufactures,  of  which  our  own  are  now  taking  the  place. 
Recollecting  always,  that,  for  every  advantage  which 
may  contribute  to  distinguish  our  lot  from  that  to  which 
others  are  doomed  by  the  unhappy  spirit  of  the  times,  we 
are  indebted  to  that  Divine  Providence  whose  goodness 
has  been  so  remarkably  extended  to  this  rising  nation,  it 
becomes  us  to  cherish  a  devout  gratitude,  and  to  implore 
from  the  same  Omnipotent  Source  a  blessing  on  the  con 
sultations  and  measures  about  to  be  undertaken  for  the 
welfare  of  our  beloved  country. 


MONROE'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS, 
MARCH  5,  1817. 

I  SHOULD  be  destitute  of  feeling  if  I  was  not  deeply  af- 
tVcted  by  the  strong  proof  which  my  fellow-citizens  have 
given  me  of  their  confidence,  in  calling  me  to  the  high 
office,  whose  functions  I  am  about  to  assume.  As  the 
expression  of  their  good  opinion  of  my  conduct  in  the 
public  service,  I  derive  fr.im  it  a  gratification,  which  those 
who  are  conscious  of  having  done  all  that  they  could  do 
to  merit  it,  can  alone  feel.  My  sensibility  is  increased  by 
a  just  estimate  of  the  importance  of  the  trust,  and  of  the 
nature  and  extent  of  its  duties  ;  with  the  proper  discharge 
of  which  the  highest  interests  of  a  great  and  free  people 


70  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

are  intimately  connected.  Conscious  of  my  own  deficiency, 
I  cannot  enter  on  these  duties  without  great  anxiety  for  the 
result.  From  a  just  responsibility  I  will  never  shrink ;  cal 
culating  with  confidence,  that  in  my  best  efforts  to  promote 
the  public  welfare,  my  motives  will  always  be  duly  appre 
ciated,  and  my  conduct  be  viewed  with  that  candor  and 
indulgence  which  I  have  experienced  in  other  stations. 

In  commencing  the  duties  of  the  chief  executive  office, 
it  has  been  the  practice  of  the  distinguished  men  who 
have  gone  before  me,  to  explain  the  principles  which  would 
govern  them  in  their  respective  administrations.  In  fol 
lowing  their  venerated  example,  my  attention  is  naturally 
drawn  to  the  great  causes  which  have  contributed,  in  a  prin 
cipal  degree,  to  produce  the  present  happy  condition  of 
the  United  States.  They  will  best  explain  the  nature  of 
our  duiies,  and  shed  much  light  on  the  policy  which  ought 
to  be  pursued  in  future. 

From  the  commencement  of  our  revolution  to  the  pre 
sent  day,  almost  forty  years  have  elapsed,  and  from  the 
establishment  of  this  constitution,  twenty-eight.  Through 
this  whole  term,  the  government  has  been  what  may  em 
phatically  be  called,  self-government;  and  what  has  been 
the  effect?  To  whatever  object  we  turn  our  attention, 
whether  it  relates  to  our  foreign  or  domestic  concerns,  we 
find  abundant  cause  to  felicitate  ourselves  in  the  excellence 
of  our  institutions.  During  a  period  fraught  with  difficul 
ties,  and  marked  by  very  extraordinary  events,  the  United 
States  have  flourished  beyond  example.  Their  citizens, 
individually,  have  been  happy,  and  the  nation  prosperous. 

Under  this  constitution  our  commerce  has  been  wisely 
regulated  with  foreign  nations,  and  between  the  states  ; 
new  states  have  been  admitted  into  our  Union  ;  our  terri 
tory  has  been  enlarged  by  fair  and  honorable  treaty,  and 
with  great  advantage  to  the  original  states  ;  the  states  re 
spectively  protected  by  the  national  government,  under  a 
mild  paternal  system,  against  foreign  dangers,  and  enjoy 
ing  within  their  separate  spheres,  by  a  wise  partition  of 
power,  a  just  proportion  of  the  sovereignty,  have  improv 
ed  their  police,  extended  their  settlements,  and  attained  a 
strength  and  maturity  which  are  the  best  proofs  of  whole 
some  laws  well  administered.  And  if  we  look  to  ihe 


71 

condition  of  individuals,  what  a  proud  spectacle  does  it 
exhibit  ?  On  whom  has  oppression  fallen  in  any  quarter 
of  our  Union  ?  Who  has  been  deprived  of  any  right  ol 
person  or  property  ?  Who  restrained  from  offering  his 
vows,  in  the  mode  which  he  prefers,  to  the  Divine  Author 
of  his  being?  It  is  well  known  that  all  these  blessings 
have  been  enjoyed  in  their  fullest  extent;  and  I  add,  with 
peculiar  satisfaction,  that  there  has  been  no  example  of  a 
capital  punishment  being  inflicted  on  any  one  for  the  crime 
of  high  treason. 

Some  who  might  admit  the  competency  of  our  govern 
ment  to  these  beneficent  duties,  might  doubt  it  in  trials 
which  put  to  the  test  its  strength  and  efficiency  as  a  mem 
ber  of  the  great  community  of  nations.  Here,  too,  ex 
perience  has  afforded  us  the  most  satisfactory  proof  in  its 
favor.  Just  as  this  constitution  was  put  into  action,  sev 
eral  of  the  principal  states  of  Europe  had  become  much 
agitated,  and  some  of  them  seriously  convulsed.  Destruc 
tive  wars  ensued,  which  have  of  late  only  been  termina 
ted.  In  the  course  of  these  conflicts,  the  United  States 
received  great  injury  from  several  of  the  parties.  It  was 
their  interest  to  stand  aloof  from  the  contest,  to  demand 
justice  from  the  party  committing  the  injury,  and  to  cul 
tivate  by  a  fair  and  honorable  conduct,  the  friendship  of 
all.  War  became  at  length  inevitable,  and  the  result  has 
shown  that  our  government  is  equal  to  that,  the  greatest 
of  trials  under  the  most  unfavorable  circumstances.  Of 
the  virtue  of  the  people,  and  of  the  heroic  explr its  of  the 
army,  the  navy,  and  the  militia,  I  need  not  speak. 

Such,  then,  is  the  happy  government  under  which  we 
live;  a  government  adequate  to  every  purpose  for  which 
the  social  compact  is  formed  ;  a  government  elective  in 
all  its  branches,  under  which  every  citizen  may,  by  his 
merit,  obtain  the  highest  trust  recognized  by  the  con 
stitution  ;  which  contains  within  it  no  cause  of  discord  : 
none  to  put  at  variance  one  portion  of  the  community 
with  another  ;  a  government,  which  protects  every  citizen 
in  the  full  enjoyment  of  his  rights,  and  is  able  to  protect 
the  nation  against  injustice  from  foreign  powers. 

Other  considerations  of  the  highest  importance  admo 
nish  us  to  cherish  our  union,  and  to  cling  to  the  govern- 


72  THE  TRUE  RKPUBL1CAX. 

ment  which  supports  it.  Fortunate  as  we  are  in  our  po 
litical  institutions,  we  have  not  been  less  so  in  other  cir 
cumstances  on  which  our  prosperity  and  happiness  essen 
tially  depend.  Situated  within  the  temperate  zone,  and 
extending  through  many  degrees  of  latitude  along  the 
Atlantic,  the  United  States  enjoy  all  the  varieties  of  cli 
mate,  and  every  production  incident  to  that  portion  of  the 
globe.  Penetrating,  internally,  to  the  great  lakes,  and  be 
yond  the  resources  of  the  great  rivers  which  communicate 
through  our  whole  interior,  no  country  was  ever  happier 
with  respect  to  its  domain.  Blessed  too  with  a  fertile  soil, 
our  produce  has  always  been  very  abundant,  leaving  even 
in  years  the  least  favorable,  a  surplus  for  the  wants  of 
our  fellow-men  in  other  countries.  Such  is  our  peculiar 
felicity,  that  there  is  not  a  part  of  our  Union  that  is  not 
particularly  interested  in  preserving  it.  The  great  agri 
cultural  interest  of  our  nation  prospers  under  its  protec 
tion.  Local  interests  are  not  less  fostered  by  it.  Our 
fellow-citizens  of  the  north,  engaged  in  navigation,  find 
great  encouragement  in  being  made  the  favored  carriers 
of  the  vast  productions  of  the  other  portions  of  the  Uni 
ted  States,  while  the  inhabitants  of  these  are  amply  re 
compensed,  in  their  turn,  by  the  nursery  for  seamen  and 
naval  force,  thus  formed  and  reared  up  for  the  support  of 
our  common  rights.  Our  manufacturers  find  a  generous 
encouragement  by  the  policy  which  patronizes  domestic 
industry  ;  and  the  surplus  of  our  produce,  a  steady  and  pro 
fitable  market  by  local  wants  in  less  favored  parts  at  home. 

Such,  then,  being  the  highly  favored  condition  of  our 
country,  it  is  the  interest  of  every  citizen  to  maintain  it. 
What  are  the  dangers  which  menace  us?  If  any  exist, 
they  ought  to  be  ascertained  and  guarded  against. 

In  explaining  my  sentiments  on  this  subject,  it  may 
be  asked,  what  raised  us  to  the  present  happy  state  ? 
How  did  we  accomplish  the  revolution  ?  How  remedy 
the  defects  of  the  first  instrument  of  our  Union,  by 
infusing  into  the  national  government  sufficient  power 
for  national  purposes,  without  impairing  the  just  rights 
of  the  states,  or  affecting  those  of  individuals?  How 
sustain  and  pass  with  glory  through  the  late  war?  The 
government  has  been  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  To  the 


people,  therefore,  and  to  the  faithful  and  aWe  depositaries 
of  their  trust,  is  the  credit  duo.  Had  the  people  of  the 
United  States  been  educated  in  different  principles,  had 
they  been  less  intelligent,  less  independent,  or  less  virtu 
ous,  can  it  be  believed  that  we  should  have  maintained  the 
same  steady  and  consistentcareer,  orbeen  blessed  with  the 
same  success  ?  While  then  the  constituent  body  retains 
its  present  sound  and  healthful  state,  every  thing  will  be 
safe.  They  will  choose  competent  and  faithful  represen 
tatives  for  every  department.  It  is  only  when  the  people 
become  ignorant  and  corrupt,  when  they  degenerate  into 
a  populace,  that  they  are  incapable  of  exercising  the  sove 
reignty.  Usurpation  is  then  an  easy  attainment,  and  an 
usurper  soon  found.  The  people  themselves  become  the 
willing  instruments  of  their  own  debasement  and  ruin. 
Let  us  then  look  to  the  great  cause,  and  endeavor  to  pre 
serve  it  in  full  force.  Let  us  by  all  wise  and  constitu 
tional  measures,  promote  intelligence  among  the  people, 
as  the  best  means  of  preserving  our  liberties. 

Dangers  from  abroad  are  not  less  deserving  of  atten 
tion.  Experiencing  the  fortune  of  other  nations,  the 
United  States  may  again  be  involved  in  war,  and  it  may 
in  that  event  be  the  object  of  the  adverse  party  to  over 
set  our  government,  to  break  our  union,  and  demolish  us 
as  a  nation.  Our  distance  from  Europe,  and  the  just, 
moderate,  and  pacific  policy  of  our  government  may  form 
some  security  against  these  dangers,  but  they  ought  to  be 
anticipated  and  guarded  against.  Many  of  our  citizens - 
are  engaged  in  commerce  and  navigation,  and  all  of  them 
are  in  a  certain  degree  dependent  on  their  prosperous 
state.  Many  are  engaged  in  the  fisheries.  These  inte 
rests  are  exposed  to  invasion  in  the  wars  between  other 
powers,  and  we  should  disregard  the  faithful  admonitions 
of  experience  if  we  did  not  expect  it.  We  must  support 
our  rights,  or  lose  our  character,  and  with  it,  perhaps,  our 
liberties.  A  people  who  fail  to  do  it,  can  scarcely  be 
said  to  hold  a  place  among  independent  nations.  National 
honor  is  national  property  of  the  highest  value.  The 
sentiment  in  the  mind  of  every  citizen,  is  national  strength. 
It  ought  therefore  to  be  cherished. 

To  secure  us   against  these  dangers,   our  coast  and 


7  1  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

inland  frontiers  should  be  fortified,  our  army  and  navy 
regulated  upon  just  principle.'  as  to  the  force  of  each,  be 
kept  in  perfect  order,  and  our  militia  be  placed  on  the 
best  practicable  footing.  To  put  our  extensive  coast  in 
such  a  state  of  defence  as  to  secure  our  cities  and  inte 
rior  from  invasion,  will  be  attended  with  expense,  but  the 
•work  when  finished  will  be  permanent,  and  it  is  fair  to 
presume  that  a  single  campaign  of  invasion,  by  a  naval 
force,  superior  to  our  own,  aided  by  a  few  thousand  land 
troops,  would  expose  us  to  a  greater  expense,  without 
taking  into  the  estimate  the  loss  of  property  and  distress 
of  our  citizens,  than  would  be  sufficient  for  this  great 
work.  Our  land  and  naval  forces  should  be  moderate, 
but  adequate  to  the  necessary  purposes.  The  former  to 
garrison  and  preserve  our  fortifications,  and  to  meet  the 
first  invasions  of  a  foreign  foe;  and  while  constituting 
the  elements  of  a  greater  force,  to  preserve  the  science, 
as  well  as  all  the  necessary  implements  of  war,  in  a  stale 
to  be  brought  into  activity  in  the  event  of  war.  The  lat 
ter,  retained  within  the  limits  proper  in  state  of  peace, 
might  aid  in  maintaining  the  neutrality  of  the  United 
States  with  dignity,  in  the  wars  of  other  powers,  and  in 
saving  the  property  of  their  citizens  from  spoliation.  In 
time  of  war,  with  the  enlargement  of  which  the  great  na 
val  resources  of  the  country  render  it  susceptible,  and  which 
should  be  duly  fostered  in  time  of  peace,  it  would  contri 
bute  essentially,  both  as  an  auxiliary  of  defence  and  as  a 
powerful  engine  of  annoyance,  to  diminish  the  calamities 
of  war,  and  to  bring  the  war  to  a  speedy  and  honorable 
termination. 

But  it  ought  always  to  be  held  prominently  in  view, 
that  the  safety  of  these  states,  and  of  every  thing  dear  to 
a  free  people,  must  depend  in  an  eminent  degree  on  the 
militia.  Invasions  may  be  made  too  formidable  to  be  re 
sisted  by  any  land  and  naval  force,  which  it  would  com 
port,  either  with  the  principles  of  our  government,  or  the 
circumstances  of  the  United  States  to  maintain.  In  such 
cases,  recourse  must  be  had  to  the  great  body  of  the  peo 
ple,  and  in  a  manner  to  produce  the  best  effect.  It  is  of 
the  highest  importance,  therefore,  that  they  be  so  orga 
nized  and  trained  as  to  be  prepared  for  any  emergency. 


MONROE'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  75 

The  arrangement  should  be  such  as  to  put  at  the  com 
mand  of  the  government  the  ardent  patriotism  and  youth 
ful  vigor  of  the  country.  If  formed  on  equal  and  just 
principles,  it  cannot  be  oppressive.  It  is  the  crisis  which 
makes  the  pressure,  and  not  the  laws  which  provide  a  re 
medy  for  it.  This  arrangement  should  be  formed,  too, 
in  time  of  peace,  to  be  the  better  prepared  for  war.  With 
such  an  organization  of  such  a  people,  the  United  States 
have  nothing  to  dread  from  foreign  invasion.  At  its  ap 
proach,  an  overwhelming  force  of  gallant  men  might  al 
ways  be  put  in  motion. 

Other  interests  of  high  importance  will  claim  attention; 
among  which,  the  improvement  of  our  country  by  roads 
and  canals,  proceeding  always  with  a  constitutional  sanc 
tion,  holds  a  distinguished  place.  By  thus  facilitating 
the  intercourse  between  the  slates,  we  shall  add  much  to 
the  convenience  and  comfort  of  our  fellow-citizens,  much 
to  the  ornament  of  the  country,  and  what  is  of  greater 
importance,  we  shall  shorten  distances,  and  by  making 
each  part  more  accessible  to  and  dependent  on  the  other, 
we  shall  bind  the  union  more  closely  together.  Nature 
has  done  so  much  for  us  by  intersecting  the  country  with 
so  many  great  rivers,  bayi,  and  lakes,  approaching  from 
distant  points  so  near  to  each  other,  that  the  inducement 
to  complete  the  work  seems  to  be  peculiarly  strong.  A 
more  interesting  spectacle  was  perhaps  never  seen  than  is 
exhibited  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States — a  ter 
ritory  so  vast,  and  advantageously  situated,  containing  ob 
jects  so  grand,  so  useful,  so  happily  connected  in  all  their 
parts. 

Our  manufactures  will,  likewise,  require  the  systematic 
and  fostering  care  of  the  government.  Possessing,  as  we 
do,  all  the  raw  materials,  the  fruit  of  our  own  soil  and 
industry,  we  ought  not  to  depend  in  the  degree  we  have 
done,  on  supplies  from  other  countries.  While  we  are 
thus  dependent,  the  sudden  event  of  war,  unsought  and 
unexpected,  cannot  fail  to  plunge  us  into  the  most  serious 
difficulties.  It  is  important,  too,  that  the  capital  which 
nourishes  our  manufactures  should  be  domestic,  as  its  in 
fluence  in  that  case,  instead  of  exhausting,  as  it  may  do 
in  foreign  hands,  would  be  felt  advantageously  on  agri- 


76  THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

culture,  and  every  other  branch  of  industry.  Equally  im 
portant  is  it  to  provide  at  home  a  market  for  our  raw  ma 
terials,  as  by  extending  the  competition,  it  will  enhance 
the  price,  and  protect  the  cultivator  against  the  casualties 
incident  to  foreign  markets. 

With  the  Indian  tribes  it  is  our  duty  to  cultivate  friendly 
relations,  and  to  act  with  kindness  and  liberality'in  all  our 
transactions.  Equally  proper  is  it  to  persevere  in  our  ef 
forts  to  extend  to  them  the  advantages  of  civilization. 

The  great  amount  of  our  revenue,  and  the  flourishing 
state  of  the  treasury  are  a  full  proof  of  the  competency  of 
the  national  resources  for  any  emergency,  as  they  are  of 
the  willingness  of  our  fellow-citizens  to  bear  the  burdens 
which  the  public  necessities  require.  The  vast  amount 
of  vacant  lands,  the  value  of  which  daily  augments, 
forms  an  additional  resource  of  great  extent  and  duration. 
These  resources,  besides  accomplishing  every  other  ne 
cessary  purpose,  puts  it  completely  in  the  power  of  the 
United  States  to  discharge  the  national  debt  at  an  early 
period.  Peace  is  the  best  time  for  improvement  and  pre 
parations  of  every  kind  :  it  is  in  peace  that  our  commerce 
flourishes  most,  that  taxes  are  most  easily  paid,  and  that 
the  revenue  is  most  productive. 

The  executive  is  charged,  officially,  in  the  departments 
under  it,  with  the  disbursement  of  the  public  money,  and 
is  responsible  for  the  faithful  application  of  it  to  the  pur 
poses  for  which  it  is  raised.  The  legislature  is  the  watch 
ful  guardian  over  the  public  purse.  It  is  its  duty  to  see 
that  the  disbursement  has  been  honestly  made.  To  meet 
the  requisite  responsibility,  every  facility  should  be  afford 
ed  to  the  executive,  to  enable  it  to  bring  the  public  agents 
intrusted  with  the  public  money,  strictly  and  promptly  to 
account.  Nothing  should  be  presumed  against  them : 
but  if,  with  the  requisite  facilities,  the  public  money  is 
suffered  to  lie  long  and  uselessly  in  their  hands,  they  will 
not  be  the  only  defaulters,  nor  will  the  demoralizing  ef 
fect  be  confined  to  them.  It  will  evince  a  relaxation  and 
want  of  tone  in  the  administration,  which  will  be  felt  by 
the  whole  community.  I  shall  do  all  that  I  can  to  secure 
economy  and  fidelity  in  this  important  branch  of  the 
administration,  and  I  doubt  not  that  the  legislature  will 


MONROE'S  INAUOUUAL  ADDRESS.  77 

perform  its  duty  with  equal  zeal.     A  thorough  examina 
tion  should  be  regularly  made,  and  I  will  promote  it. 

It  is  particularly  gratifying  to  me  to  enter  on  the  dis 
charge  of  these  duties  at  a  time  when  the  United  Slates 
are  blessed  with  peace.  It  is  a  state  most  consistent  with 
their  prosperity  and  happiness.  It  will  be  my  sincere 
desire  to  preserve  it,  so  far  as  depends  on  the  executive, 
on  just  principle  with  all  nations,  claiming  nothing  unrea 
sonable  of  any,  and  rendering  to  each  what  is  its  due. 

Equally  gratifying  is  it  to  \vitness  the  increased  harmo 
ny  of  opinion  which  pervades  our  Union.  Discord  does 
not  belong  to  our  system.  Union  is  recommended,  as 
well  by  the  free  and  benign  principles  of  our  government, 
extending  its  blessings  to  every  individual,  as  by  the  other 
eminent  advantages  attending  it.  The  American  people 
have  encountered  together  great  dangers,  and  sustained 
severe  trials  with  success.  They  constitute  one  great 
family  with  a  common  interest.  Experience  has  enlight 
ened  us  on  some  questions  of  essential  importance  to  the 
country.  The  progress  has  been  slow,  dicta  ted  by  a  just 
reflection,  arid  a  faithful  regard  to  every  interest  connect 
ed  with  it.  To  promote  this  harmony,  in  accordance 
with  the  principles  of  our  republican  government,  and  in 
a  manner  to  give  them  the  most  complete  effect,  and  to 
advance,  in  all  other  respects,  the  best  interests  of  our 
country,  will  be  the  object  of  my  constant  and  zealous  ex 
ertions. 

Never  did  a  government  commence  under  auspices  so 
favorable,  nor  ever  was  success  so  complete.  If  we 
look  to  the  history  of  other  nations,  ancient  or  modern, 
we  find  no  example  of  a  growth  so  rapid,  so  gigantic ;  of 
a  people  so  prosperous  and  happy.  In  contemplating 
what  we  have  still  to  perform,  the  heart  of  every  citizen 
must  expand  with  joy,  when  he  reflects  how  near  our  go 
vernment  has  approached  to  perfection  ;  that  in  respect 
to  it  we  have  no  essential  improvement  to  make  ;  that 
the  great  object  is  to  preserve  it  in  the  essential  principles 
and  features  which  characterize  it,  and  that  that  is  to  be 
done  by  preserving  the  virtue  and  enlightening  the  minds 
of  the  people ;  and,  as  a  security  against  foreign  dangers, 
to  adopt  such  arrangements  as  are  indispensable  to  the 
7* 


78  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

support  of  our  independence,  our  rights  and  liberties.  If 
we  persevere  in  the  career  in  which  we  have  advanced  so 
far,  and  in  the  path  already  traced,  we  cannot  fail,  under 
the  favor  of  a  gracious  Providence,  to  attain  the  high  des 
tiny  which  seems  to  await  us. 

In  the  administration  of  the  illustrious  men  who  have 
preceded  me  in  this  high  station,  with  some  of  whom  I 
have  been  connected  by  the  closest  ties  from  early  life, 
examples  ar&  presented  which  will  always  be  found  highly 
instructive  and  useful  to  their  successors.  From  these  I 
shall  endeavor  to  derive  all  the  advantages  which  they 
may  afford.  Of  my  immediate  predecessor,  under  whom 
so  important  a  portion  of  this  great  and  successful  expe 
riment  has  been  made,  1  shall  be  pardoned  for  expressing 
my  earnest  wishes  that  he  may  long  enjoy  in  his  retire 
ment  the  affections  of  a  grateful  country,  the  best  reward 
of  exalted  talents  and  the  most  faithful  and  meritorious 
services.  Relying  on  the  aid  to  be  derived  from  the  other 
departments  of  government,  I  enter  on  the  trust  to  which 
I  have  been  called  by  the  suffrages  of  my  fellow-citizens, 
with  my  fervent  prayers  to  the  Almighty  that  he  will  be 
graciously  pler.sed  to  continue  to  us  that  protection  which 
he  has  already  so  conspicuously  displayed  in  our  favor. 


MONROE'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE, 
DECEMBER  3,  1817. 

Fellow- Citizens  of  the  Senate 

and  House  of  Representatives : 

At  no  period  of  our  political  existence  had  we  so  much 
cause  to  felicitate  ourselves  at  the  prosperous  and  happy 
condition  of  our  country.  The  abundant  fruits  of  the 
earth  have  filled  it  with  plenty.  An  extensive  and  profit 
able  commerce  has  greatly  augmented  our  revenue.  The 
public  credit  has  attained  an  extraordinary  elevation.  Our 
preparations  for  defence,  in  case  of  future  wars,  from 
which,  by  the  experience  of  all  nations,  we  ought  not  ex 
pect  to  be  exempted,  are  advancing,  under  a  well-digested 


MONROE  S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  79 

system,  with  all  the  despatch  which  so  important  a  work 
will  admit.  Our  free  government,  founded  on  the  inte 
rests  and  affections  of  the  people,  has  gained,  and  is  daily 
gaining  strength.  Local  jealousies  are  rapidly  yielding 
to  more  generous,  enlarged,  and  enlightened  views  of  na 
tional  policy.  For  advantages  so  numerous  and  highly 
important,  it  is  our  duty  to  unite  in  grateful  acknowledg 
ments  to  that  Omnipotent  Being,  from  whom  they  are 
derived,  and  in  unceasing  prayer  that  he  will  endow  us 
with  virtue  and  strength  to  maintain  and  hand  them  down, 
in  their  utmost  purity,  to  our  latest  posterity. 

I  have  the  satisfaction  to  inform  you,  that  an  arrange 
ment,  which  had  been  commenced  by  my  predecessor,  with 
the  British  government,  for  the  reduction  of  the  naval  force, 
by  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  on  the  lakes,  has 
been  concluded ;  by  which  it  is  provided,  that  neither 
party  shall  keep  in  service  on  lake  Champlain  more  than 
one  vessel ;  on  lake  Ontario,  more  than  one ;  on  lake 
Erie  and  the  upper  lakes,  more  than  two ;  to  be  armed, 
each  with  one  cannon  only,  and  that  all  the  other  armed 
vessels  of  both  parties,  of  which  an  exact  list  is  inter 
changed,  shall  be  dismantled.  It  is  also  agreed,  that  the 
force  retained  shall  be  restricted  in  its  duty  to  the  inter 
nal  purposes  of  each  party ;  and  that  the  arrangement 
shall  remain  in  force  until  six  months  shall  have  expired 
after  notice  having  been  given  by  one  of  the  parties  to 
the  other  of  its  desire  that  it  should  terminate.  By  this 
arrangement,  useless  expense  on  both  sides,  and  what  is 
of  greater  importance,  the  danger  of  collision  between 
armed  vessels  in  those  inland  waters,  which  was  great, 
is  prevented. 

I  have  the  satisfaction  also  to  state,  that  the  commis 
sioners  under  the  fourth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  to 
whom  it  was  referred  to  decide  to  which  party  the  several 
islands  in  the  bay  of  Passamaquoddy  belonged,  under  the 
treaty  of  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-three, 
have  agreed  in  a  report,  by  which  all  the  islands  in  the  pos 
session  of  each  party  before  the  late  war  have  been  decreed 
to  it.  The  commissioners  acting  under  the  other  articles 
of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  for  the  settlement  of  the  bounda 
ries,  have  also  been  engaged  in  the  discharge  of  their 


80  TlIE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN'. 

respective  duties,  but  have  not  yet  completed  them.  The 
difference  which  arose  between  the  two  governments, 
under  the  treaty,  respecting  the  right  of  the  United  States 
to  take  and  cure  fish  on  the  coast  of  the  British  pro 
vinces,  north  of  our  limits,  which  had  been  secured  by  the 
treaty  of  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-three, 
M  still  in  negotiation.  The  proposition  made  by  this  go 
vernment,  to  extend  to  the  colonies  of  Great  Britain  the 
principle  of  the  convention  of  London,  by  which  the  com 
merce  between  the  ports  of  the  United  States  and  British 
ports  of  Europe  had  been  placed  on  a  footing  of  equali 
ty,  has  been  declined  by  the  British  government.  This 
subject  having  been  thus  amicably  discussed  between  the 
two  governments,  and  it  appearing  that  the  British  go 
vernment  is  unwilling  to  depart  from  its  present  regula 
tions,  it  remains  for  Congress  to  decide  whether  they  will 
make  any  other  regulations  in  consequence  thereof,  for 
the  protection  and  improvement  of  our  navigation. 

The  negotiation  with  Spain,  for  spoliations  on  our  com 
merce,  and  the  settlement  of  boundaries,  remains  essen 
tially  in  the  state  it  held  in  the  communications  that  were 
made  to  Congress  by  my  predecessor.  It  has  been  evi 
dently  the  policy  of  the  Spanish  government  to  keep  the 
negotiation  suspended,  and  in  this  the  United  States  have 
acquiesced,  from  an  amicable  disposition  towards  Spain, 
and  in  the  expectation  that  her  government  would,  from 
a  sense  of  justice,  finally  accede  to  such  an  arrangement 
as  would  be  equal  between  the  parties.  A  disposition 
has  been  lately  shown  by  the  Spanish  government  to  move 
in  the  negotiation,  which  has  been  met  by  this  govern 
ment,  and  should  the  conciliatory  and  friendly  policy 
which  has  invariably  guided  our  councils,  be  reciproca 
ted,  a  just  and  satisfactory  arrangement  may  be  expected. 
It  is  proper,  however,  to  remark  that  no  proposition  has 
yet  been  made  from  which  such  a  result  can  be  presumed. 

It  was  anticipated,  at  an  early  stage,  that  the  contest 
between  Spain  and  the  colonies  would  become  highly  in 
teresting  to  the  United  States.  It  was  natural  that  our 
citizens  should  sympathize  in  events  which  ariecied  their 
neighbors.  It  seemed  probable,  also,  that  the  prosecution 
of  the  conflict,  along  our  coast,  and  in  conti^iouti  coun- 


MONROE'S  FIRSI  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  81 

Jries,  would  occasionally  interrupt  our  commerce,  and 
otherwise  affect  the  persons  and  property  of  our  citizens, 
These  anticipations  have  been  realized.  Such  injuries 
have  been  received  from  persons  acting  under  the  autho 
rity  of  both  the  parties,  and  for  which  redress  has,  in 
some  instances,  been  withheld.  Through  every  stage  of 
the  conflict,  the  United  States  have  maintained  an  impar 
tial  neutrality,  giving  aid  to  neither  of  the  parties  in  men, 
money,  ships,  or  munitions  of  war.  They  have  regarded 
the  contest  not  in  the  light  of  an  ordinary  insurrection 
or  rebellion,  but  as  a  civil  war  between  parties  nearly 
equal,  having,  as  to  neutral  powers,  equal  rights.  Our 
ports  have  been  open  to  both,  and  every  article  the  fruit 
of  our  soil,  or  of  the  industry  of  our  citizens,  which  ei 
ther  was  permitted  to  take,  has  been  equally  free  to  the 
other.  Should  the  colonies  establish  their  independence,  it 
is  proper  now  to  state  that  this  government  neither  seeks 
nor  would  accept  from  them  any  advantage  in  commerce 
or  otherwise,  which  will  not  be  equally  open  to  all  other 
nations.  The  colonies  will  in  that  event  become  inde 
pendent  states,  free  from  any  obligation  to,  or  connexion 
with  us,  which  it  may  not  then  be  their  interest  to  form 
on  a  basis  of  fair  reciprocity. 

In  the  summer  of  the  present  year,  an  expedition  was 
set  on  foot  against  East  Florida,  by  persons  claiming  to 
act  under  authority  of  some  of  the  colonies,  who  took 
possession  of  Amelia  Island,  at  the  mouth  of  St.  Mary's 
river,  near  the  boundary  of  the  state  of  Georgia.  As  the 
province  lies  eastward  of  the  Mississippi,  and  is  bounded 
by  the  United  States  and  the  ocean  on  every  side,  and 
has  been  a  subject  of  negotiation  with  the  government 
of  Spain,  as  an  indemnity  for  losses  by  spoliation,  or  in 
exchange  of  territory  of  equal  value,  westward  of  the 
Mississippi,  a  fact  well  known  to  the  world,  it  excited 
surprise  that  any  countenance  should  be  given  to  this 
measure  by  any  of  the  colonies.  As  it  would  be  difficult 
to  reconcile  it  with  the  friendly  relations  existing  between 
the  United  States  and  the  colonies,  a  doubt  was  enter 
tained  whether  it  had  been  authorized  by  them,  or  any 
of  them.  This  doubt  has  gained  strength,  by  the  cir 
cumstances  which  have  unfolded  themselves  in  the  prose- 


82  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

cution  of  the  enterprise,  which  have  marked  it  as  a  mere 
private  unauthorized  adventure.  Projected  and  com 
menced  with  an  incompetent  force,  reliance  seems  to 
have  been  placed  on  what  might  be  drawn,  in  defiance  of 
our  laws,  from  within  our  limits  ;  and  of  late,  as  their 
resources  have  failed,  it  has  assumed  a  more  marked  cha 
racter  of  unfriendliness  to  us,  the  island  being  made  a 
channel  for  the  illicit  introduction  of  slaves  from  Africa 
into  the  United  States,  an  asylum  for  fugitive  slaves  from 
the  neighboring  states,  and  a  port  for  smuggling  of  every 
kind. 

A  similar  establishment  was  made,  at  an  earlier  period, 
by  persons  of  the  same  description  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexi 
co,  at  a  place  called  Galvestoh,  within  the  limits  of  the 
United  States,  as  we  contend,  under  the  cession  of  Loui 
siana.  This  enterprise  has  been  marked  in  a  more  sig 
nal  manner  by  all  the  objectionable  circumstances  which 
characterized  the  other,  and  more  particularly  by  the 
equipment  of  privateers  which  have  annoyed  our  com 
merce,  and  by  smuggling.  These  establishments,  if  ever 
sanctioned  by  any  authority  whatever,  which  is  not  be 
lieved,  have  abased  their  trust  and  forfeited  all  claim  to  con 
sideration.  A  just  regard  for  the  rights  and  interests  of 
the  United  States  required  that  they  should  be  suppressed, 
and  orders  have  accordingly  been  issued  to  that  effect. 
T!>3  imperious  considerations  which  produced  this  mea 
sure  will  be  explained  to  the  parties  whom  it  may  in  any 
degree  concern. 

To  obtain  correct  information  on  every  subject  in  which 
the  United  States  are  interested  ;  to  inspire  just  sentiments 
in  all  persons  in  authority,  on  either  side,  of  our  friendly 
disposition,  so  far  as  it  may  comport  with  an  impartial 
neutrality,  and  to  secure  proper  re-pect  to  our  commerce 
in  every  port,  and  from  every  flag,  it  has  been  thought 
proper  to  send  a  ship  of  war,  with  three  distinguished 
citizens  along  the  southern  coast,  with  instructions  to 
touch  at  such  ports  as  they  may  find  most  expedient  for 
these  purposes.  With  the  existing  authorities,  with  those 
in  the  possession  of,  and  exercising  the  sovereignty,  must 
the  communication  be  held;  from  them  alone  can  redress 
for  past  injuries,  committed  by  persons  acting  under  them 


MONROTi's   FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  83 

be  obtained ;  by  them  alone  can  the  commission  of  the 
like  in  future  be  prevented. 

Our  relations  with  the  other  powers  of  Europe  have 
experienced  no  essential  change  since  the  last  session. 
In  our  intercourse  with  each,  due  attention  continues  to 
be  paitl  to  tlie  protection  of  our  commerce,  and  to  every 
other  object  in  which  the  United  States  are  interested. 
A  strong  hope  is  entertained,  that  by  adhering  to  the 
maxims  of  a  just,  candid,  and  friendly  policy,  we  may 
long  preserve  a.nicable  relations  with  all  the  powers  of 
Europe,  on  conditions  advantageous  and  honorable  to  our 
country. 

With  the  Barbary  states  and  the  Indian  tribes,  our  pa 
cific  relations  have  been  preserved. 

In  calling  your  attention  to  the  internal  concerns  of 
our  country,  the  view  which  they  exhibit  is  peculiarly 
gratifying.  The  payments  which  have  been  made  into 
the  treasury  show  the  very  productive  state  of  the  public 
revenue.  After  satisfying  the  appropriations  made  bylaw 
for  the  support  of  the  civil  government  and  of  the  mili 
tary  and  naval  establishments,  embracing  suitable  provi 
sion  for  fortification  and  for  the  gradual  increase  of  the 
navy,  paying  the  interest  of  the  public  debt,  and  extin 
guishing  more  than  eighteen  millions  of  the  principal, 
within  the  present  year,  it  is  estimated  that  a  balance  of 
more  than  six  millions  of  dollars  will  remain  in  the  trea 
sury  on  the  first  day  of  January,  applicable  to  the  current 
service  of  the  ensuing  year. 

The  payments  into  the  treasury  during  the  year  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventeen,  on  account  of  im 
ports  and  tonnage,  resulting  principally  from  duties  which 
have  accrued  in  the  present  year,  may  be  fairly  estimated 
at  twenty  millions  of  dollars  ;  internal  revenues,  at  two 
millions  five  hundred  thousand ;  public  lands,  at  one  mil 
lion  five  hundred  thousand  ;  bank  dividends  and  inciden 
tal  receipts,  at  five  hundred  thousand  ;  making,  in  the 
whole,  twenty-four  millions  and  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

The  annual  permanent  expenditure  for  the  support  of 
the  civil  government,  and  of  the  army  and  navy,  as  now 
established  by  law,  amounts  to  eleven  millions  eight  him- 


84  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

dred  thousand  dollars  ;  and  for  the  sinking-  fund,  to  ten 
millions  ;  making,  in  the  whole,  twenty-one  millions  eight 
hundred  thousand  dollars ;  leaving  an  annual  excess  of 
revenue,  beyond  the  expenditure,  of  two  millions  seven 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  exclusive  of  the  balance  esti 
mated  to  be  in  the  treasury  on  the  1st  day  of  January 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighteen. 

In  the  present  state  of  the  treasury,  the  whole  of  the 
Louisiana  debt  may  be  redeemed  in  the  year  1819 ;  after 
which,  if  the  public  debt  continues  as  it  now  is,  above 
par,  there  will  be  annually  about  five  millions  of  the  sink 
ing  fund  unexpended,  until  the  year  1825,  when  the  loan 
of  1812,  and  the  stock  created  by  funding  treasury  notes 
will  be  redeemable. 

It  is  also  estimated  that  the  Mississippi  stock  will  be 
discharged  during  the  year  1819,  from  the  proceeds  of 
the  public  lands  assigned  to  that  object;  after  which  the 
receipts  from  those  lands  will  annually  add  to  the  public 
revenue  the  sum  of  one  million  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  making  the  permanent  annual  revenue  amount  to 
*wenty-six  millions  of  dollars,  and  leaving  an  annual  ex 
cess  of  revenue  after  the  year  1819,  beyond  the  perma 
nent  authorized  expenditure,  of  more  than  four  millions 
of  dollars. 

By  the  test  returns  to  the  department  of  war,  the  mili 
tia  force  of  the  several  states  may  be  estimated  at  eight 
hundred  thousand  men,  infantry,  artillery,  and  cavalry. 
Great  part  of  this  force  is  armed,  and  measures  are  taken 
to  arm  the  whole.  An  improvement  in  the  organization 
and  discipline  of  the  militia,  is  one  of  the  great  objects 
which  claim  the  unremitted  attention  of  Congress. 

The  regular  force  amounts  nearly  to  the  number  re 
quired  by  law,  and  is  stationed  along  the  Atlantic  and  in 
land  frontiers. 

Of  the  naval  force,  it  has  been  necessary  to  maintain 
strong  squadrons  in  the  Mediterranean  and  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico. 

From  several  of  the  Indian  tribes,  inhabiting  the  coun 
try  bordering  on  Lake  Erie,  purchases  have  been  made 
of  lands,  on  conditions  very  favorable  to  the  United  States 
and,  it  is  presumed,  not  less  so  to  the  tribes  themselves 


MONROE  S   FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  85 

By  these  purchases   the  Indian  title,  with  moderate  re 
servations,  has  been  extinguished  to  the  whole  of  the  land 

within  the  state  of  Ohio,  and  to  a  great  part  of  that  in 
Michigan  territory,  and  of  the  state  of  Indiana.  From  the 
Cherokee  tribe  a  tract  has  been  purchased  in  the  state  of 
Georgia,  and  an  arrangement  made,  by  which,  in  exchange 
for  lands  beymd  the  Mississippi,  a  great  part,  if  not  the 
whole  of  the  land  belonging  to  the  tribe,  eastward  of  that 
river,  in  the  states  of  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Ten 
nessee,  and  in  the  Alabama  territory,  will  soon  be  ac 
quired.  By  these  acquisitions,  and  others  that  may  rea- 
sonablv  be  expected  soon  to  follow,  we  shall  be  enabled 
to  extend  our  settlements  from  the  inhabited  parts  of  the 
state  of  Ohio,  along  Lake  Erie,  into  the  Michigan  terri 
tory,  and  to  connect  our  settlements  by  degrees,  through 
the  state  of  Indiana  and  the  Illinois  territory,  to  that  of 
Missouri.  A  similar  and  equally  advantageous  effect  will 
soon  be  produced  to  the  south,  through  the  whole  extent 
of  the  states  and  territory  which  border  on  the  waters 
emptying  into  the  Mississippi  and  the  Mobile.  In  this 
progress,  which  the  rights  of  nature  demand,  and  nothing 
can  prevent,  marking  a  growlh  rapid  and  gigantic,  it  is 
our  auty  to  make  ne\v  effjrts  for  the  preservation,  im 
provement,  and  civilization  of  the  native  inhabitants. 
The  hunter  state  can  exist  only  in  the  vast  uncultivated 
desert.  It  yields  to  the  more  dense  and  compact  form 
and  greater  force  of  civilized  population  ;  and  of  right  it 
ought  to  yield,  for  the  earth  was  given  to  mankind  to  sup 
port  the  greatest  number  of  which  it  is  capable,  anil  no 
tribe  or  people  have  a  right  to  withhold  from  the  wants 
of  others  more  than  is  necessary  for  their  own  support 
and  comfort.  It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  the  reserva 
tion  of  land  made  by  the  treaties  with  the  tribes  on  Lake 
Erie,  were  made  with  a  view  to  individual  ownership 
among  them,  and  to  the  cultivation  of  ihe  soil  by  all,  and 
that  an  annual  stipend  has  been  pledged  to  supply  their 
other  wants.  It  will  merit  the  consideration  of  Congress, 
whether  other  provisions,  not  stipulated  by  the  treaty, 
ought  to  be  made  for  these  tribes,  and  for  the  advance 
ment  of  the  liberal  and  humane  policy  of  the  United 
States  towards  all  the  tribes  within  our  limits,  and  more 
8 


86  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

particularly  for  their  improvement  in  the  arts  of  civilized 

Among  the  advantages  incident  to  these  purchases,  and 
to  those  which  have  preceded  the  security  which  may 
thereby  be  afforded  to  our  inland  frontier  is  peculiarly 
important.  With  a  strong  barrier,  consisting  of  our  own 
people  thus  pla:  ted  on  the  lakes,  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Mobile,  with  the  protection  to  be  derived  from  the  regu 
lar  force,  Indian  hostilities,  if  they  do  not  altogether 
cease,  will  henceforth  lose  their  terror.  Fortifications  in 
those  quarters  to  any  extent  will  not  be  necessary,  and  the 
expense  attending  them  may  be  saved.  A  people  accus 
tomed  to  the  use  of  fire-arms  only,  as  the  Indian  tribes 
are,  will  shun  even  moderate  works  which  are  defended 
by  cannon.  Great  fortifications  will  therefore  be  requi 
site  only  in  future  along  the  coast,  and  at  some  points  in 
the  interior  connected  with  it.  On  these  will  the  safety 
of  towns  and  the  commerce  of  our  rivers,  from  the  bay 
of  Fundy  to  the  Mississippi,  depend.  On  these,  there 
fore,  should  the  utmost  attention,  skill  and  labor  be  be 
stowed. 

A  considerable  and  rapid  augmentation  in  the  value 
of  all  the  public  lands,  proceeding  from  these  and  other 
obvious  causes,  may  henceforward  be  expected.  The  dif 
ficulties  attending  early  emigrations  will  be  dissipated  even 
in  the  most  remote  parts.  Several  new  states  have  been 
admitted  into  our  Union  to  the  west  and  south,  and  terri 
torial  governments,  happily  organized,  established  over 
every  other  portion  in  which  there  is  vacant  land  for  sale. 
In  terminnting  Indian  hostilities,  as  must  soon  be  done, 
in  a  formidable  shape  at  least,  the  emigration,  which  has 
heretofore  been  great,  will  probably  increase,  and  the  de 
mand  for  land,  and  the  augmentation  in  its  value,  be  in 
like  proportion.  The  great  increase  of  our  population 
throughout  the  Union  will  alone  produce  an  important 
effect,  and  in  no  quarter  will  it  be  so  sensibly  felt  as  in 
those  in  contemplation.  The  public  lands  are  a  public 
stock,  which  ought  to  be  disposed  of  to  the  best  advan 
tage  for  the  nation.  The  nation  should,  therefore,  derive 
the  profit  proceeding  from  the  continual  rise  in  their 
value.  Every  encouragement  should  be  given  to  the  emi- 


MONROE'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  87 

grants,  consistent  with  a  fair  competition  between  them  ; 
but  that  competition  should  operate  in  the  first  sale  to  the 
advantage  of  the  nation  rather  than  of  individuals.  Great 
capitalists  will  derive  all  the  benefit  incident  to  their  su 
perior  wealth,  under  any  mode  of  sale  which  may  be 
adopted.  But  if,  looking  forward  to  the  rise  in  the  value 
of  the  public  lands,  they  should  have  the  opportunity  of 
amassing,  at  a  low  price,  vast  bodies  in  their  hands,  the 
profit  will  accrue  to  them,  and  not  to  the  public.  They 
would  also  have  the  power,  in  that  degree,  to  control  the 
emigration  and  settlement  in  such  a  manner  as  their  opi 
nion  of  their  respective  interests  might  dictate.  I  submit 
the  subject  to  the  consideration  of  Congress,  that  such 
further  provision  may  be  made  of  the  sale  of  the  public 
lands,  with  a  view  to  the  public  interest,  should  any  be 
deemed  expedient,  as  in  their  judgment  may  be  best  adapt 
ed  to  the  object. 

When  we  consider  the  vast  extent  of  territory  within 
the  United  States,  the  great  amount  and  value  of  its  pro 
ductions,  the  connection  of  its  parts,  and  other  circum 
stances  on  which  their  prosperity  and  happiness  depend, 
we  cannot  fail  to  entertain  a  high  sense  of  the  advantage 
to  be  derived  from  the  facility  which  may  be  afforded  in 
the  intercourse  between  them,  by  means  of  good  roads 
and  canals.  Never  did  a  country  of  such  vast  extent 
offer  equal  inducements  to  improvements  of  this  kind,  nor 
ever  were  consequences  of  such  magnitude  involved  in 
them.  As  this  subject  was  acted  on  by  Congress  at  the 
last  session,  and  there  may  be  a  disposition  to  revive  it  at 
present,  I  have  brought  it  into  view  for  the  purpose  of 
communicating  my  sentiments  on  a  very  important  cir 
cumstance  connected  with  it,  with  that  freedom  and  can 
dor  which  a  regard  for  the  public  interest  and  a  proper 
respect  for  Congress  require.  A  difference  of  opinion 
has  existed  from  the  first  formation  of  our  constitution  to 
the  present  time,  among  our  most  enlightened  and  virtu 
ous  citizens,  respecting  the  right  of  Congress  to  establish 
such  a  system  of  improvement.  Taking  into  view  the 
trust  with  which  I  am  now  honored,  it  would  be  improper, 
after  what  has  passed,  that  this  discussion  should  be  re 
vived  with  an  uncertainty  of  my  opinion  respecting  the 


88  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

right.  Disregarding  early  impressions,  I  have  bestowet* 
on  the  suhject  all  the  deliberation  which  its  great  impor 
tance,  and  a  just  sense  of  my  duty,  required,  and  the  re 
sult  is  a  settled  conviction  in  my  mind  that  Congress  do 
not  possess  the  right.  It  is  not  contained  in  any  of  the 
specified  powers  granted  to  Congress,  nor  can  I  consider 
it  incidental  to,  or  a  necessary  mean,  viewed  on  the  most 
liberal  scale,  for  carrying  into  effect  any  of  the  powers 
which  are  specifically  granted.  In  communicating  this 
result,  I  cannot  resist  the  obligation  which  I  feel,  to  sug 
gest  to  Congress  the  propriety  of  recommending  to  the 
states  an  adoption  of  an  amendment  to  the  constitution, 
which  shall  give  to  Congress,  the  right  in  question.  In 
cases  of  doubtful  construction,  especially  of  such  vital 
interest,  it  comports  with  the  nature  and  origin  of  our  re 
publican  institutions,  and  will  contribute  much  to  pre 
serve  them,  to  apply  to  our  constituents  for  an  explicit 
grant  of  the  power.  We  may  confidently  rely,  that  if  it 
appears  to  their  satisfaction  that  the  power  is  necessary, 
it  will  be  granted. 

In  this  case,  I  am  happy  to  observe,  that  experience 
has  afforded  the  most  ample  proof  of  its  utility,  and  that 
the  benign  spirit  of  conciliation  and  harmony,  which  now 
manifests  itself  throughout  our  Union,  promises  to  such 
a  recommendation  the  most  prompt  and  favorable  result. 
I  think  proper  to  suggest,  also,  in  case  this  measure  is 
adopted,  that  it  be  recommended  to  the  states  to  include 
in  the  amendment  sought,  a  right  in  Congress  to  insti 
tute,  likewise,  seminaries  of  learning,  for  the  all-impor 
tant  purpose  of  diffusing  knowledge  among  our  fellow- 
citizens  throughout  the  United  States. 

Our  manufactures  will  require  the  continued  atten 
tion  of  Congress.  The  capital  employed  in  them  is  con 
siderable,  and  the  knowledge  required  in  the  machinery 
anil  fabric  of  all  the  most  useful  manufactures  is  of  great 
value.  Their  preservation,  which  depends  on  due  en 
couragement,  is  connected  with  the  high  interests  of  the 
nation. 

Ahhough  the  progress  of  the  public  buildings  has  been 
as  favorable  as  circumstances  have  permitted,  it  is  to  be 
regretted  the  capitol  is  not  yet  in  a  state  to  receive  you. 


MONROE'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  89 

There  is  good  cause  to  presume  that  the  two  wings,  the 
Duly  parts  as  yet  commenced,  will  be  prepared  i'or  that 
purpose  the  next  session.  The  time  seems  now  to  have 
arrived,  when  this  subject  may  be  deemed  worthy  of  the 
attention  of  Congress,  on  a  scale  adequate  to  national 
purposes.  The  completion  of  the  middle  building  will 
be  necessary  to  the  convenient  accommodation  of  Con 
gress,  of  the  committees,  and  various  officers  belonging 
to  it.  It  is  evident  that  the  other  public  buildings  are 
altogether  insufficient  for  the  accommodation  of  the  seve 
ral  executive  departments  ;  some  of  whom  are  much 
crowded,  and  even  subject  to  the  necessity  of  obtaining 
it  in  private  buildings,  at  some  distance  from  the  head  of 
the  department,  and  with  inconvenience  to  the  manage 
ment  of  the  public  business.  Most  nations  have  taken 
an  interest  and  a  pride  in  the  improvement  and  ornament 
of  their  metropolis,  and  none  were  more  conspicuous 
in  that  respect  than  the  ancient  republics.  The  policy 
which  dictated  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  resi 
dence  for  the  national  government,  and  the  spirit  in  which 
it  was  commenced  and  has  been  prosecuted,  show  that 
such  improvement  was  thought  worthy  the  attention  of 
this  nation.  Its  central  position,  between  the  northern 
and  southern  extremes  of  our  Union,  and  its  approach  to 
the  west,  at  the  head  of  a  great  navigable  river,  which 
interlocks  with  the  western  waters,  prove  the  wisdom  of 
the  councils  which  established  it. 

Nothing  appears  to  be  more  reasonable  and  proper, 
than  that  convenient  accommodation  should  be  provided, 
on  a  well-digested  plan,  for  the  heads  of  the  several  de 
partments,  and  for  the  attorney-general;  and  it  is  believed 
that  the  public  ground  in  the  city,  applied  to  these 
objects,  will  be  found  amply  sufficient.  I  submit  this 
subject  to  the  consideration  of  Congress,  that  such  pro 
vision  may  be  made  in  it,  as  to  them  may  seem  proper. 

In  contemplating  the  happy  situation  of  the  United 
States,  our  attention  is  drawn,  with  peculiar  interest,  to 
the  surviving  officers  and  soldiers  of  our  revolutionary 
army,  who  so  eminently  contributed,  by  their  services,  to 
lay  its  foundation.  Most  of  those  very  meritorious  citi 
zens  have  paid  the  debt  of  nature  and  gone  to  repose.  It 


90  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

is  Vu-lieved,  that  among  the  survivors  there  are  some  not 
provided  for  by  existing  laws,  who  are  rer'uced  to  indi 
gence,  and  even  to  real  distress.  These  men  have  a 
claim  on  the  gratitude  of  their  country,  and  it  will  do 
honor  to  their  country  to  provide  for  them.  The  lapse 
of  a  few  years  more,  and  the  opportunity  will  be  forever 
lost :  indeed,  so  long  already  has  been  the  interval,  that 
the  number  to  be  benefit  ted  by  any  provision  which  may 
be  made,  will  not  be  great. 

It  appearing  in  a  satisfactory  manner  that  the  revenue 
arising  from  imposts  and  tonnage,  and  from  the  sale  of 
public  lands,  will  be  fully  adequate  to  the  support  of  the 
civil  government,  of  the  present  military  and  naval  esta 
blishments,  including  the  annual  augmentation  of  the  lat 
ter  to  the  extent  provided  for,  to  the  payment  of  the  in 
terests  on  the  public  debt,  and  to  the  extinguishment  of  it 
at  the  times  authorized,  without  the  aid  of  the  internal 
taxes,  I  consider  it  my  duty  to  recommend  to  Congress 
their  repeal.  To  impose  taxes  when  the  public  exigen 
cies  require  them,  is  an  obligation  of  the  most  sacred 
character,  especially  with  a  free  people.  The  faithful  fulfil- 
mentof  it  is  among  the  highest  proofs  of  iheir  virtue  and  ca 
pacity  for  self-government.  To  dispense  with  taxes,  when 
it  may  be  done  with  perfect  safety,  is  equally  the  duty  of 
their  representatives.  In  this  instance,  we  have  the  satis 
faction  to  know  that  they  are  imposed  when  the  demand 
was  imperious,  and  have  been  sustained  with  exeriplary 
fidelity.  I  have  to  add,  that  however  gratifying  it  >-nay  be 
to  me,  regarding  the  prosperous  and  happy  condition  of 
our  country,  to  recommend  the  repeal  of  these  texes  at 
this  time,  I  shall,  nevertheless,  be  attentive  to  even  s,  and 
should  any  future  emergency  occur,  be  not  less  ;  rom.pt 
to  suo-gest  such  measures  and  burdens  as  may  U  «a  l» 
requisite  and  proper. 


5> 


j.  Q.  ADAMS'  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.       91 

J.  Q.  ADAMS'  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 
MARCH  4,  1825. 

In  compliance  with  a  usage  coeval  with  the  existence 
of  our  federal  constitution,  and  sanctioned  by  the  exam 
ple  of  my  predecessors  in  the  career  upon  which  I  am 
about  to  enter,  I  appear,  my  fellow-citizens,  in  your  pre 
sence,  and  in  that  of  Heaven,  to  bind  myself,  by  the  so 
lemnities  of  a  religions  obligation,  to  the  faithful  perform 
ance  of  the  duties  allotted  to  me,  in  the  station  to  which 
I  have  been  called. 

In  unfolding  to  my  countrymen  the  principles  by  which 
I  shall  be  governed  in  the  fulfilment  of  those  duties, 
my  first  resort  will  be  to  that  constitution,  which  I  shall 
swear,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  to  preserve,  protect, 
and  defend.  That  revered  instrument  enumerates  the 
powers  and  prescribes  the  duties  of  the  executive  magis 
trate  ;  and,  in  its  first  words,  declares  the  purposes  to 
which  these,  and  the  whole  action  of  the  government,  in 
stituted  by  it,  should  be  invariably  and  sacredly  devoted — 
to  form  a  more  perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure 
domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defence, 
promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of 
liberty  to  the  people  of  this  Union,  in  their  successive 
generations.  Since  the  adoption  of  this  social  compact, 
one  of  these  generations  have  passed  away.  It  is  the  work 
of  our  forefathers.  Administered  by  some  of  the  most 
eminent  men  who  contributed  to  its  torrnation,  through 
a  most  eventful  period  in  the  annals  of  the  world,  ;  nd 
through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  peace  and  war,  incidental 
to  the  condition  of  associated  manf  it  has  not  disappointed 
the  hopes  and  aspirations  of  those  illustrious  benefactors 
of  their  age  and  nation.  It  has  promoted  the  lasting 
welfare  of  that  country,  so  dear  to  us  all ;  it  has,  to  an 
extent  far  beyond  the  ordinary  lot  of  humanity,  secured 
the  freedom  and  happiness  of  this  people.  We  now  re 
ceive  it  as  a  precious  inheritance  from  those  to  whom  we 
are  indebted  for  its  establishment,  doubly  bound  by  the 
examples  they  have  left  us,  and  by  the  blessings  which 


92  THE  TRUE   REPUBLICAN. 

we  have  enjoyed,  as  the  fruit  of  their  labors,  to  transmit 
the  same,  unimpaired,  to  the  succeeding  generations. 

In  the  compass  of  thirty-six  years,  since  this  great  na 
tional  covenant  was  instituted,  a  body  of  laws  enacted 
under  its  authority,  and  in  conformity  with  its  provisions, 
has  unfolded  its  powers,  and  carried  into  practical  opera 
tion  its  effective  energies.  Subordinate  departments  have 
distributed  the  executive  functions  in  their  various  rela 
tions  to  foreign  affairs,  to  the  revenue  and  expenditures, 
and  to  the  military  force  of  the  Union  by  land  and  sea. 
A  co-ordinate  department  of  the  judiciary  has  expounded 
the  constitution  and  the  laws;  settling,  in  harmonious  co 
incidence  with  the  legislative  will,  numerous  weighty 
questions  of  construction  which  the  imperfection  of  hu 
man  language  had  rendered  unavoidable.  The  year  of 
jubilee,  since  the  first  formation -of  our  Union  has  just 
elapsed  ;  that  of  the  declaration  of  independence  is  at  hand. 
The  consummation  of  both  was  effected  by  this  constitu 
tion.  Since  that  period,  a  population  of  four  millions  has 
multiplied  to  twelve.  A  territory,  bounded  by  the  Mis 
sissippi,  has  been  extended  from  sea  to  sea.  New  states 
have  been  admitted  to  the  Union,  in  numbers  nearly  equal 
to  those  of  the  first  confederation.  Treaties  of  peace, 
amity,  and  commerce,  have  been  concluded  with  the  prin 
cipal  dominions  of  the  earth.  The  people  of  other  na 
tions,  inhabitants  of  regions  acquired,  not  by  conquestbut 
by  compact,  have  been  united  with  us  in  the  participation 
of  our  rights  and  duties,  of  our  burdens  and  blessings. 
The  forest  has  fallen  by  the  axe  of  our  woodsman;  the 
soil  lias  been  made  to  teem  by  the  tillage  of  our  far 
mers  ;  our  commerce  has  whitened  every  ocean.  The 
dominion  of  man  over  physical  nature  has  been  extended 
by  the  invention  of  our  artists.  Liberty  and  law  have 
marched  hand  in  hand.  All  the  purposes  of  human  asso 
ciation  have  been  accomplished  as  effectively  as  under 
any  other  government  on  the  globe  ;  and  at  a  cost,  little 
exceeding,  in  a  whole  generation,  the  expenditures  of 
other  nations  in  a  single  year. 

Such  is  the  unexaggerated  picture  of  our  condition 
under  a  constitution  founded  upon  the  republican  princi 
ple  of  equal  rights.  To  admit  that  this  picture  has  its 


93 

shades,  is  but  to  say  that  it  is  still  the  condition  of  men 
upon  earth.  From  evil,  physical,  moral  ami  political,  it 
is  not  our  claim  to  be  exempt.  We  have  suffered  some 
times  by  the  visitation  of  Heaven,  through  disease  ;  often 
by  the  wrongs  and  injustices  of  other  nations,  even  to  the 
extremities  of  war;  and  lastly,  by  dissei'Sions  among  our 
selves — dissensions,  perhaps,  inseparable  from  the  enjoy 
ment  of  freedom,  but  which  have  more  than  once  appeared 
to  threaten  the  dissolution  of  the  Union,  and,  with  it,  the 
overthrow  of  all  the  enjoyments' of  our  pre:-ent  lot,  and 
all  our  earthly  hopes  of  the  future.  The  causes  of  these 
dissensions  have  been  various,  founded  upon  differences 
of  speculation  in  the  theory  of  republican  government; 
upon  conflicting  views  of  policy,  in  our  relations  with 
foreign  nations  ;  upon  jealousies  of  partial  and  sectional 
interests,  aggravated  by  prejudices  and  prepossessions, 
which  strangers  to  each  other  are  ever  apt  to  entertain. 

It  is  a  source  of  gratification  and  of  encouragement  to 
me,  to  observe  that  the  great  result  of  this  experiment 
upon  the  theory  of  human  rights  has,  at  the  close  of  that 
generation  by  which  it  was  formed,  been  crowned  with 
success  equal  to  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  its 
founders.  Union,  justice,  tranquillity,  the  common  de 
fence,  the  general  welfare,  and  the  blessings  of  liberty*  all 
have  been  promoted  by  the  government  under  which  we 
have  lived.  Standing  at  this  point  of  time  ;  looking  hack 
to  that  generation  which  has  gone  by,  and  forward  to  that 
which  is  advancing,  we  may  at  once  indulge  in  grateful 
exultation  and  in  cheering  hope.  From  the  expert*  nee  of 
the  past,  we  derive  instructive  lessons  for  the  future.  Of 
the  two  great  political  parties  which  have  divided  the 
opinions  and  feelings  of  our  country,  the  candid  and  the 
just  will  now  admit  that  both  have  contributed  splendid 
talents,  spotless  integrity,  ardent  patriotism  and  disinte 
rested  sacrifices,  to  the  formation  and  administration  of  this 
government;  and  that  both  have  required  a  liberal  indul 
gence  for  a  portion  of  human  infirmity  and  error.  The 
revolutionary  wars  of  Europe,  cornmencinof  precisely  at 
the  moment  when  the  government  of  the  United  States 
first  u-ent  into  operation  under  this  constitution,  excited 
a  collision  of  sentiments  and  of  sympathies,  which  kin- 


94  THE  TRUE   REPUBLICAN. 

died  all  the  passions,  and  embittered  the  conflict  of  par 
ties  till  the  nation  was  involved  in  war,  and  the  Union 
was  shaken  to  its  centre.  This  time  of  trial  embraced  a 
period  of  five-and- twenty  years,  during  which  the  policy 
of  the  Union,  in  its  relations  with  Europe,  constituted 
the  principal  basis  of  our  political  divisions,  and  the  most 
arduous  part  of  the  action  of  our  federal  government. 
With  the  catastrophe  in  which  the  wars  of  the  French 
revolution  terminated,  and  our  own  subsequent  peace 
with  Great  Britain,  this  baneful  weed  of  party  strife  was 
uprooted.  From  that  time,  no  difference  of  principle, 
connected  either  with  the  theory  of  government,  or  with 
our  intercourse  with  foreign  nations  has  existed,  or  been 
called  forth  in  force  sufficient  to  sustain  a  continued  com 
bination  of  parties,  x>r  give  more  than  wholesome  anima 
tion  to  public  sentiment  or  legislative  debate.  Oar  po 
litical  creed  is,  without  a  dissenting  voice  that  can  be 
heard,  that  the  will  of  the  people  is  the  source,  and  the 
happiness  of  the  peopls  the  end,  of  all  legitimate  govern 
ment  upon  earth.  That  the  best  security  for  the  benefi 
cence,  and  the  best  guaranty  against  the  abuse  of  power, 
.consists  in  the  freedom,  the  purity,  and  the  frequency  of 
popular  elections.  That  ths  general  government  of  the 
Union,  and  the  separate  governments  of  the  states,  are 
all  sovereignties  of  legitimated  powers  ;  fellow-servants 
of  the  same  masters,  uncontrolled  within  their  respective 
spheres,  uncontrollable  by  encroachments  upon  each 
other.  Thit  the  firmest  security  of  peace  is  the  pre 
paration  during  peace  of  the  defences  of  war.  That  a 
rigorous  economy,  and  accountability  of  public  expendi 
tures,  should  guard  against  the  aggravation,  and  alleviate, 
when  possible,  the  burden  of  taxation.  That  the  military 
should  be  kept  in  strict  subordination  to  the  civil  power. 
That  the  freedom  of  the  press  and  of  religious  opinion 
should  be  inviolate.  That  the  policy  of  our  country  is 
peace,  and  the  ark  of  our  salvation,  union,  are  articles 
of  faith  upon  which  we  are  all  agreed.  If  there  have 
been  those  who  doubted  whether  a  confederated  represen 
tative  democracy  were  a  government  competent  to  the 
wise  and  orderly  management  of  the  common  concerns 
of  a  mighty  nation,  those  doubts  have  bean  dispelled.  If 


j.  Q.  ADAMS'  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  95 

the;e  have  been  projects  of  partial  confederacies  to  be 
erected  upon  the  ruins  of  the  Union,  they  have  been  scat 
tered  to  the  winds.  If  there  have  been  dangerous  at 
tachments  to  one  foreign  nation,  and  antipathies  against 
another,  they  have  been  extinguished.  Ten  years  of 
peace,  at  home  and  abroad,  have  assuaged  the  animosities 
of  political  contention,  and  blended  into  harmony  the  most 
discordant  elements  of  public  opinion.  There  still  re 
mains  one  effort  of  magnanimity,  one  sacrifice  of  prejudice 
and  passion,  to  be  made  by  the  individuals  throughout  the 
nation,  who  have  heretofore  followed  the  standard  of  po 
litical  party.  It  is  that  of  discarding  every  remnant  of 
rancor  against  each  other ;  of  embracing  as  countrymen 
and  friends  ;  and  of  yielding  to  talents  and  virtue  alone, 
that  confidence  which,  in  times  of  contention  for  principle, 
was  bestowed  only  upon  those  who  bore  the  badge  of  par 
ty  communion. 

The  collisions  of  party  spirit,  which  originate  in  specu 
lative  opinions,  or  in  different  views  of  administrative  poli 
cy,  are  in  their  nature  transitory.  Those  which  are  found 
ed  on  geographical  divisions,  adverse  interests  of  soil,  cli 
mate,  and  modes  of  domestic  life,  are  more  permanent, 
and  therefore  perhaps  more  dangerous.  It  is  this  which 
gives  inestimable  value  to  the  character  of  our  govern 
ment,  at  once  federal  and  national.  It  holds  out  to  us  a 
perpetual  admonition  to  preserve  alike,  and  with  equal 
anxiety,  the  rights  of  each  individual  state  in  its  own 
government,  and  the  rights  of  the  whole  nation  in  that  of 
the  Union.  Whatever  is  of  domestic  concealment,  un 
connected  with  the  other  members  of  the  Union,  or  with 
foreign  lands,  belongs  exclusively  to  the  administration  of 
the  state  governments.  Whatsoever,  directly  involves  the 
rights  and  interests  of  the  federative  fraternity,  or  of  for 
eign  powers,  is  of  the  resort  of  this  general  government. 
The  duties  of  both  are  obvious  in  the  general  principle, 
though  sometimes  perplexed  with  difficulties  in  the  detail. 
To  respect  the  rights  of  the  state  governments  is  the  in 
violable  duty  of  that  of  the  Union;  the  government  of 
every  state  will  feel  its  own  obligation  to  respect  and  pre 
serve  the  rights  of  the  whole.  The  prejudices  every  where 
too  commonly  entertained  against  distant  strangers  are 


00  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

worn  awayi  anfl  the  jealousies  of  jarring  interests  are  al 
layecl  by  the  composition  and  functions  of  the  great  na 
tional  councils  annually  assembled  from  all  quarters  of  the 
Union  at  this  place.  Here  the  distinguished  men  from 
every  section  of  our  country,  while  meeting  to  deliberate 
upon  the  great  interests  ol  those  by  whom  they  are  depu 
ted,  learn  to  estimate  the  talents,  and  do  justice  to  the 
virtues  of  each  other.  The  harmony  of  the  nation  is 
promoted,  and  the  whole  Union  is  knit  together  by  the 
sentiments  of  mutual  respect,  the  habits  of  social  inter 
course,  and  the  ties  of  personal  friendship,  formed  be 
tween  the  representatives  of  its  several  parts,  in  the  per 
formance  of  their  service  at  this  metropolis. 

Parsing  from  this  general  review  of  the  purposes  and 
injunctions  of  the  federal  constitution,  and  their  results, 
as  indicating  the  first  traces  of  the  path  of  duty  in  the  dis 
charge  of  my  public  trust,  I  turn  to  the  administration  of 
my  immediate  predecessor,  as  the  second.  It  has  passed 
away  in  a  period  of  profound  peace  :  how  much  to  the 
satisfaction  of  our  country,  and  to  the  honor  of  our  coun 
try's  name,  is  known  to  you  all.  The  great  features  of 
its  policy,  in  general  concurrence  with  the  will  of  the  le 
gislature,  have  been — to  cherish  peace  while  preparing 
for  defensive  war;  to  yield  exact  justice  to  other  nations, 
and  maintain  the  rights  of  our  own  ;  to  cherish  the  prin 
ciples  of  freedom  and  of  equal  rights,  wherever  they  were 
proclaimed;  to  discharge  with  all  possible  promptitude  the 
national  debt ;  to  reduce  within  the  narrowest  limits  of 
efficiency  the  military  force;  to  improve  the  organization 
and  discipline  of  the  army:  to  provide  and  sustain  a 
school  of  military  science;  to  extend  equal  protection  to 
all  the  great  interests  of  the  nation  ;  to  promote  the  civili 
zation  of  the  Indian  tribes ;  and  to  proceed  in  the  great 
system  of  internal  improvements  within  the  limits  of  the 
constitutional  power  of  the  Union.  Under  the  pledge  of 
these  promises,  made  by  that  eminent  citizen,  at  the  time 
of  his  first  induction  to  this  office,  in  his  career  of  eight 
years,  the  internal  taxes  have  beer  repealed;  sixty  mil 
lions  of  the  public  debt  have  been  discharged;  provision 
has  been  made  for  the  comfort  and  relief  of  the  acred  and 
indigent  among  the  surviving  warriors  of  the  revolution; 


J.   Q.   ADAMS     INAUGURAL  ADDHIiSS.  97 

the  regular  armed  force  has  been  reduced,  and  its  consti 
tution  revised  and  perfected ;  the  accountability  for  the 
expenditures  of  public  moneys  has  been  made  more  effec 
tive;  the  Floridas  have  been  peaceably  acquired,  and  our 
boundary  has  been  extended  to  the  Pacific  ocean ;  the  in 
dependence  of  thy  southern  nations  of  this  hemisphere  has 
been  recognized,  and  recommended  by  example  and  by 
counsel  to  the  potentates  of  Europe  progress  has  been 
made  in  the  defence  of  the  country  by  fortifications,  and 
the  increase  of  the  navy — towards  tho  effectual  suppres 
sion  of  the  African  traffic  in  slaves—in  alluring  the  abori 
ginal  hunters  of  our  land  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  and 
of  the  mind — in  exploring  the  interior  regions  of  the 
Union,  and  in  preparing,  by  scientific  researches  and  sur 
veys,  for  the  further  application  of  our  national  resources 
to  the  internal  improvement  of  our  country. 

In  this  brief  outline  of  the  promise  and  performance  of 
my  immediate  predecessor,  the  line  of  duty  for  his  suc 
cessor  is  clearly  delineated.  To  pursue  to  their  consum 
mation  those  purposes  of  improvement  in  our  common 
condition,  instituted  or  recommended  by  him,  will  embrace 
the  whole  sphere  of  my  obligations.  To  the  topic  of  in 
ternal  improvement,  emphatically  urged  by  him  at  his  in 
auguration,  I  recur  with  peculiar  satisfaction.  It  is  that 
from  which  I  am  convinced  that  the  unborn  millions  of 
our  posterity,  who  are  in  future  ages  to  people  this  conti 
nent,  will  derive  their  most  fervent  gratitude  to  the  found 
ers  of  the  Union  ;  that  in  which  the  beneficent  action  of 
its  government  will  be  most  deeply  felt  and  acknowledged. 
The  magnificence  and  splendor  of  their  public  works  are 
among  the  imperishable  glories  of  the  ancient  republics. 
The  roads  and  aqueducts  of  Rome  have  been  the  admira 
tion  of  all  after-ages,  and  have  survived  thousands  of  years, 
after  all  her  conquests  have  been  swallowed  up  in  despo 
tism,  or  become  the  spoil  of  barbarians.  Some  diversity 
of  opinion  has  prevailed  with  regard  to  the  powers  of 
Congress  for  legislation  upon  objects  of  this  nature.  The 
most  respectful  deference  is  due  to  doubts,  originating  in 
pure  patriotism,  and  sustained  by  venerated  authority. 
But  nearly  twenty  years  have  passed  since  the  construc 
tion  of  the  first  national  road  was  commenced.  The  au- 
9 


98  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

thority  for  its  construction  was  then  unquestioned.  To 
how  many  thousands  of  our  countrymen  has  it  proved  a 
benefit  ?  To  what  single  individual  has  it  ever  proved  an 
injury  ?  Repeated,  liberal  and  candid  discussions  in  the 
legislature  have  conciliated  the  sentiments,  and  approxi 
mated  the  opinions  of  enlightened  minds,  upon  the  question 
of  constitutional  power.  I  cannot  but  hope  that,  by  the 
same  process  of  friendly,  patient,  and  persevering  delibe 
ration,  all  constitutional  objections  will  ultimately  be  re 
moved.  The  extent  and  limitation  of  the  powers  of  the 
general  government,  in  relation  to  this  transcendently  im 
portant  interest,  will  be  settled  and  acknowledged  to  the 
common  satisfaction  of  all ;  and  every  speculative  scruple 
will  be  solved  by  a  practical  public  blessing. 

Fellow-citizens,  you  are  acquainted  with  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  the  recent  elections,  which  have  result 
ed  in  affording  me  the  opportunity  of  addressing  you  at 
this  time.  You  have  heard  the  exposition  of  the  princi 
ples  which  will  direct  me  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  high 
and  solemn  trust  imposed  upon  me  in  this  station.  Less 
possessed  of  your  confidence  in  advance  than  any  of  my 
predecessors,  I  am  deeply  conscious  of  the  prospect  that 
I  shall  stand,  more  and  oftener,  in  need  of  your  indul 
gence.  Intentions,  upright  and  pure  ;  a  heart  devoted  to 
the  welfare  of  our  country,  and  the  unceasing  applica 
tion  of  the  faculties  allotted  to  me  to  her  service,  are  all 
the  pledges  that  I  can  give  to  the  faithful  performance  of 
the  arduous  duties  I  am  to  undertake.  To  the  guidance 
of  the  legislative  councils ;  to  the  assistance  of  the  exe 
cutive  and  subordinate  departments  ;  to  the  friendly  co 
operation  of  the  respective  state  governments;  to  the  can 
did  and  liberal  support  of  the  people,  so  far  as  it  may  be 
deserved  by  honest  industry  and  zeal,  I  shall  look  for 
whatever  success  may  attend  my  public  service :  and 
knowing  that,  except  the  Lord  keep  the  city,  the  watch 
man  waketh  but  in  vain,  with  fervent  supplications  for  his 
favor,  to  his  overruling  providence  I  commit,  with  hum 
ble  but  fearless  confidence,  my  own  fate  and  the  future 
destinies  of  my  country. 


99 


J.  Q.  ADAMS'  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE, 
DECEMBER  6,  1825 

To  the  Senate,  and 

House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States: 

In  taking  a  general  survey  of  the  concerns  of  our  be 
loved  country,  with  reference  to  subjects  interesting  to 
the  common  welfare,  the  first  sentiment  which  impresses 
itself  upon  the  mind,  is  of  gratitude  to  the  Omnipotent 
Disposer  of  all  good,  for  the  continuance  of  the  signal 
blessings  of  his  providence,  and  especially  for  that  health, 
which,  to  an  unusual  extent,  has  prevailed  within  our  bor 
ders  ;  and  for  that  abundance  which,  in  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  seasons,  has  been  scattered  with  profusion  over  our 
land.  Nor  ought  we  less  to  ascribe  to  Him  the  glory, 
that  we  are  permitted  to  enjoy  the  bounties  of  his  hand  in 
peace  and  tranquillity — in  peace  with  all  the  other  nations 
of  the  earth,  in  tranquillity  among  ourselves.  There  has, 
indeed,  rarely  been  a  period  in  the  history  of  civilized 
man,  in  which  the  general  condition  of  the  Christian  na 
tions  has  been  marked  so  extensively  by  peace  and  pros 
perity. 

Europe,  with  a  few  partial  and  unhappy  exceptions, 
has  enjoyed  ten  years  of  peace,  during  which  all  her  go 
vernments,  whatever  the  theory  of  their  constitutions  may 
have  been,  are  successively  taught  to  feel  that  the  end  of 
their  institutions  is  the  happiness  of  the  people,  and  that 
the  exercise  of  power  among  men  can  be  justified  only  by 
the  blessings  it  confers  upon  those  over  whom  it  is 
extended. 

During  the  same  period,  our  intercourse  with  all  those 
nations  has  been  pacific  and  friendly;  it  so  continues. 
Since  the  close  of  your  late  session,  no  material  varia 
tion  has  occurred  in  our  relations  with  any  one  of  them. 
In  the  commercial  and  navigation  system  of  Great  Britain, 
important  changes  of  municipal  regulations  have  recently 
been  sanctioned  by  the  acts  of  parliament,  the  effect  of 
which  upon  the  interests  of  other  nations,  and  particular 
ly  upon  ours,  has  not  yet  been  fully  developed.  In  the 


100  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

recent  renewal  of  the  diplomatic  missions,  on  both  sides, 
between  the  two  governments,  assurances  have  been 
given  and  received  of  the  continuance  and  increase  of 
the  mutual  confidence  and  cordiality  by  which  the  adjust 
ment  of  many  points  of  difference  has  already  been  effect 
ed,  and  which  affords  the  surest  pledge  for  the  ultimate 
satisfactory  adjustment  of  those  which  still  remain  open, 
or  may  hereafter  arise. 

The  policy  of  the  United  States,  in  their  commercial 
intercourse  with  other  nations,  has  always  been  of  the 
most  liberal  character.  In  the  mutual  exchange  of  their 
respective  productions,  they  have  abstained  altogether 
from  prohibitions  ;  they  have  interdicted  themselves  the 
power  of  laying  taxes  upon  exports,  and  whenever  they 
have  favored  their  own  shipping,  by  special  preferences 
or  exclusive  privileges  in  their  own  ports,  it  has  been 
only  with  a  view  to  countervail  similar  favors  and  exclu 
sions  granted  by  the  nations  with  whom  we  have  been 
engaged  in  traffic,  to  their  own  people  or  shipping,  and  to 
the  disadvantage  of  ours.  Immediately  after  the  close  of 
the  last  war,  a  proposal  was  fairly  made  by  the  act  of  Con 
gress  of  the  3d  March,  1815,  to  all  maratime  nations,  to 
lay  aside  the  system  of  retaliating  restrictions  and  exclu 
sions,  and  to  place  the  shipping  of  both  parties  to  the 
common  trade  on  a  footing  of  equality  in  respect  to  the 
duties  of  tonnage  an:l  impost.  This  offer  was  partially 
and  successively  accepted  by  Great  Britain,  Sweden,  the 
Netherlands,  the  Hanseatic  cities,  Prussia,  Sardinia,  the 
Duke  of  Oldenburg,  and  Russia.  It  was  also  adopted, 
under  certain  modifications,  in  our  late  commercial  con 
vention  with  France.  And  by  the  act  of  Congress  of  the 
8th  ot  January,  1824,  it  has  received  a  new  confirmation 
with  all  the  nations  who  had  acceded  to  it,  and  has  been 
offered  again  to  all  those  who  are  or  may  hereafter  be  will 
ing  to  abide  in  reciprocity  by  it.  But  all  these  regula 
tions,  whether  established  by  treaty  or  by  municipal 
enactments,  are  still  subject  to  one  important  restriction. 

The  removal  of  discriminating  duties  of  tonnage  and 
impost,  is  limited  to  articles  of  the  growth,  produce,  or 
manufacture  of  the  country  to  which  the  vessel  belongs, 
or  to  such  articles  as  are  most  universally  shipped  from 


J.   Q.   AD.iMS*  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  101 

her  ports.  It  will  deserve  the  serious  consideration  of 
Congress,  whether  even  this  remnant  of  restriction  may 
not  be  safely  abandoned,  and  whether  the  general  tender 
of  equal  competition,  made  in  the  act  of  8th  January, 
1824,  may  not  be  extended  to  include  all  articles  of  mer 
chandise  not  prohibited,  of  what  country  soever  they  may 
be  the  produce  or  manufacture.  Propositions  to  this 
effect  have  already  been  made  to  us  by  more  than  one  Eu 
ropean  government,  and  it  is  probable  that  if  once  esta 
blished  by  legislation  or  compact  with  any  distinguished 
maratime  state,  it  would,  recommend  itself,  by  the  experi 
ence  of  its  advantages,  to  the  general  accession  of  all. 

The  convention  of  commerce  and  navigation  between 
the  United  States  and  France,  concluded  on  the  24th  of 
June,  1822,  was,  in  the  understanding  and  intent  of  both 
parties,  as  appears  upon  its  face,  only  a  temporary  ar 
rangement  of  the  points  of  difference  between  them  of 
the  most  immediate  and  pressing  urgency.  It  was  limit 
ed,  in  the  first  instance,  to  two  years  from  the  first  of 
October,  1822,  but  with  a  proviso,  that  it  should  further 
continue  in  force  till  the  conclusion  of  a  general  and  de 
finitive  treaty  of  commerce,  unless  terminated  by  a  notice 
six  months  in  advance,  of  either  of  the  parties  to  the 
other.  Its  operation,  so  far  as  it  extended,  has  been  mu 
tually  advantageous  ;  and  it  still  continues  in  force,  by 
common  consent.  But  it  left  unadjusted  several  objects 
of  great  interest  to  the  citizens  and  subjects  of  both  coun 
tries,  and  particularly  a  mass  of  claims,  to  considerable 
amount,  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  upon  the  govern 
ment  of  France,  of  indemnity  for  property  taken  or  de 
stroyed,  under  circumstances  of  the  most  aggravated  and 
outrageous  character.  In  the  long  period  during  which 
continued  and  earnest  appeals  have  been  made  to  the 
equity  and  magnanimity  of  France,  in  behalf  of  those 
claims,  their  justice  has  not  been,  as  it  could  not  be,  de 
nied.  It  was  hoped  that  the  accession  of  a  new  sovereign 
to  the  throne,  would  have  afforded  a  favorable  opportu 
nity  for  presenting  them  to  the  consideration  of  his  go 
vernment.  They  have  been  presented  and  urged,  hither 
to,  without  effect.  The  repeated  and  earnest  representa 
tions  of  our  minister  at  the  court  of  France,  remains  as 
9* 


102  THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

yet  even  without  an  answer.  Were  the  demands  of  na 
tions  upon  the  justice  oi  each  other  susceptible  of  adju 
dication  by  the  decision  of  an  impartial  tribunal,  those  to 
whom  I  now  refer  would  long  since  have  been  setiled, 
and  adequate  indemnity  would  have  been  obtained.  There 
are  large  amounts  of  similar  claims  upon  the  Nether 
lands,  Naples,  and  Denmark.  For  those  upon  Spain, 
prior  to  1819,  indemnity  was,  after  many  years  of  patient 
forbearance,  obtained,  and  those  of  Sweden  have  been 
lately  compromised  by  a  private  settlement,  in  which  the 
claimants  themselves  have  acquiesced.  The  governments 
of  Denmark  and  of  Naples  have  been  recently  reminded 
of  those  yet  existing  against  them  ;  nor  will  any  of  them 
be  forgotten  while  a  hope  may  be  indulged  of  obtaining 
justice,  by  the  means  within  the  constitutional  power  olf 
the  executive,  and  without  resorting  to  those  means  of 
self-redress,  which,  as  well  as  the  time,  circumstances, 
and  occasion,  which  may  require  them,  are  within  the 
exclusive  competency  of  the  legislature. 

It  is  with  great  satisfaction  that  I  am  enabled  to  bear 
witness  to  the  liberal  spirit  with  which  the  republic  of 
Colombia  has  made  satisfaction  for  well-established  claims 
of  a  similar  character.  And  among  the  documents  now 
communicated  to  Congress,  will  be  distinguished  a  treaty 
of  commerce  and  navigation  with  that  republic,  the  rati 
fications  of  which  have  been  exchanged  since  the  last  re 
cess  of  the  legislature.  The  negotiation  of  similar  trea 
ties  with  all  the  independent  South  American  states,  has 
been  contemplated,  and  may  yet  be  accomplished.  The 
basis  of  them  all,  as  proposed  by  the  United  States,  has 
been  laid  in  two  principles;  the  one,  of  entire  and  un 
qualified  reciprocity  ;  the  other,  the  mutual  obligation  of 
the  parties  to  place  each  other  permanently  on  the  footing 
of  the  most  favored  nation.  These  principles  are,  indeed, 
indispensible  to  the  effectual  emancipation  of  the  Ameri 
can  hemisphere  from  the  thraldom  of  colonizing  monopo 
lies  and  exclusions — an  event  rapidly  realizing  in  the  pro 
gress  of  human  affairs,  and  which  the  resistance  still  op 
posed  in  certain  parts  of  Europe  to  the  acknowledgment 
of  the  Southern  American  republics  as  independent 
states,  will,  it  is  believed,  contribute  more  effectually  to 


J.  Q.  ADAMS*  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  103 

accomplish.  The  time  has  been,  and  that  not  remote 
when  some  of  these  states  might,  in  their  anxious  desire 
to  obtain  a  nominal  recognition,  have  accepted  of  a  nomi 
nal  independence,  clogged  with  burdensome  conditions, 
and  exclusive  commercial  privileges,  granted  to  the  nation 
from  which  they  have  separated,  to  the  disadvantage  of 
all  others.  They  now  are  all  aware  that  such  conces 
sions  to  any  European  nation  would  be  incompatible  with 
that  independence  which  they  have  declared  and  main 
tained. 

Among  the  measures  which  have  been  suggested  to 
them  by  the  new  relations  with  one  another,  resulting 
from  the  recent  changes  in  their  condition,  is  that  of  as 
sembling  at  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  a  Congress,  at  which 
each  of  them  should  be  represented,  to  deliberate  upon 
objects  important  to  the  welfare  of  all.  The  republics 
of  Colombia,  of  Mexico,  and  of  Central  America,  have 
already  deputed  plenipotentiaries  to  such  a  meeting,  and 
they  have  invited  the  United  States  to  be  also  represented 
there  by  their  ministers.  The  invitation  has  been  accept 
ed,  and  ministers  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  will 
be  commissioned  to  attend  at  those  deliberations,  and  to 
take  part  in  them,  so  far  as  it  may  be  compatible  with 
that  neutrality  from  which  it  is  neither  our  intention  nor 
the  desire  of  the  American  states  that  we  should  depart. 

The  commissioners  under  the  seventh  article  of  the 
treaty  of  Ghent  have  so  nearly  completed  their  arduous 
labors,  that,  by  the  report  recently  received  from  the  agent 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  there  is  reason  to  ex 
pect  that  the  commission  will  be  closed  at  their  next  ses 
sion,  appointed  for  the  U2d  of  May,  of  the  ensuing  year. 

The  other  commission  appointed  to  ascertain  the  in 
demnities  due  for  slaves  carried  away  from  the  United 
States,  after  the  close  of  the  late  war,  have  met  with  some 
difficulty  which  has  delayed  their  progress  in  the  inquiry. 
A  reference  has  been  made  to  the  British  government  on 
the  subject,  which,  it  may  be  hoped,  will  tend  to  hasten 
the  decision  of  the  commissioners,  or  serve  as  a  substi 
tute  for  it. 

Among  the  powers  specifically  granted  to  Congress  by 
the  constitution,  are  those  of  establishing  uniform  law 


104  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United 
States  ;  and  for  providing  for  organizing,  arming,  and  dis 
ciplining  the  militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them 
as  may  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United  States. 
The  magnitude  and  complexity  of  the  interests  affected 
by  legislation  upon  these  subjects,  may  account  for  the 
fact,  that  long  and  often  as  both  of  them  have  occupied 
the  attention,  and  animated  the  debates  of  Congress,  no 
systems  have  yet  been  devised  for  fulfilling,  to  the  satis 
faction  of  the  community,  the  duties  prescribed  by  these 
grants  of  power.  To  conciliate  the  claim  of  the  indi 
vidual  citizen  to  the  enjoyment  of  personal  liberty,  with 
the  effective  obligation  of  private  contracts,  is  the  difficult 
problem  to  be  solved  by  a  law  of  bankruptcy.  These  are 
objects  of  the  deepest  interest  to  society  ;  affecting  all 
that  is  precious  in  the  existence  of  multitudes  of  persons, 
many  of  them  in  the  classes  essentially  dependent  and 
helpless;  of  the  age  requiring  nurture,  and  of  the  sex  en 
titled  to  protection  from  the  free  agency  of  the  parent  and 
the  husband.  The  organization  of  the  militia  is  yet  more 
indispensable  to  the  liberties  of  the  country.  It  is  only 
by  an  effective  militia  that  we  can  at  once  enjoy  the  re 
pose  of  peace,  and  bid  defiance  to  foreign  aggression ;  it 
is  by  the  militia  that  we  are  constituted  an  armed  nation, 
standing  in  perpetual  panoply  of  defence,  in  the  presence 
of  all  the  other  nations  of  the  earth.  To  this  end,  it 
would  be  necessary,  if  possible,  so  to  shape  its  organiza 
tion,  as  to  give  it  a  more  united  and  active  energy.  There 
are  laws  for  establishing  a  uniform  militia  throughout  the 
United  States,  and  for  arming  and  equipping  its  whole 
body.  But  it  is  a  body  of  dislocated  members,  without 
the  vigor  of  unity,  and  having  little  of  uniformity  but  the 
name.  To  infuse  into  this  most  important  institution  the 
power  of  which  it  is  susceptible,  and  to  make  it  available 
for  the  defence  of  the  Union,  at  the  shortest  notice,  and 
at  the  smallest  expense  possible  of  time,  of  life,  and  of 
treasure,  are  among  the  benefits  to  be  expected  from  the 
persevering  deliberations  of  Congress. 

Among  theunequivocal  indications  of  our  national  pros 
perity,  is  the  flourishing  state  of  our  finances.  The  reve 
nues  of  the  present  year,  from  all  their  principal  sources, 


J     Q.  ADAMa'    FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  105 

will  exceed  the  anticipations  of  the  last.  The  balance 
in  the  treasury  on  the  first  of  January  last,  was  a  little 
short  of  two  millions  of  dollars,  exclusive  of  two  millions 
and  a  half,  being  a  moiety  of  the  loan  of  five  millions, 
authorized  by  the  act  of  the  26th  May,  1824.  The  re 
ceipts  into  the  treasury  from  the  first  of  January  to  the  30th 
of  September,  exclusive  of  the  other  moiety  of  the  same 
loan,  are  estimated  at  sixteen  millions  five  hundred  thou 
sand  dollars;  and  it  is  expected  that  those  of  the  current 
quarter  will  exceed  five  millions  of  dollars;  forming  an 
aggregate  of  receipts  of  nearly  twenty-two  millions,  inde 
pendent  of  the  loan.  The  expenditures  of  the  year  will 
not  exceed  that  sum  more  than  two  millions.  By  those 
expenditures,  nearly  eight  millions  of  the  principal  of  the 
public  debt  have  been  discharged.  More  than  a  million 
and  a  half  has  been  devoted  to  the  debt  of  gratitude  to  the 
warriors  of  the  revolution ;  a  nearly  equal  sum  to  the 
construction  of  fortifications  and  the  acquisition  of 
ordnance,  and  other  permanent  preparations  of  national 
defence  ;  half  a  million  to  the  gradual  increase  of  the 
navy;  an  equal  sum  for  purchases  of  territory  from  the 
Indians,  and  payment  of  annuities  to  them;  and  upwards 
of  a  miUion  for  objects  of  internal  improvement,  autho 
rized  by  special  acts  of  the  last  Congress.  If  we  add  to 
these,  four  millions  of  dollars  for  payment  of  interestupon 
the  public  debt,  there  remains  a  sum  of  about  seven  mil 
lions,  which  have  defrayed  the  whole  expense  of  the  ad 
ministration  of  government,  in  its  legislative,  executive, 
and  judiciary  departments,  including  the  support  of  the 
military  and  naval  establishments,  and  all  the  occasional 
contingencies  of  a  government  co-extensive  with  the 
Union. 

The  amount  of  duties  secured  on  merchandise  import 
ed,  since  the  commencement  of  the  year,  is  about  twenty- 
five  millions  and  a  half;  and  that  which  will  accrue  during 
the  current  quarter,  is  estimated  at  five  millions  and  a  half; 
from  these  thirty-one  millions,  deducting  the  drawbacks, 
estimated  at  less  than  seven  millions,  a  sum  exceeding 
twenty-four  millions  will  constitute  the  revenue  of  the 
year,  and  will  exceed  the  whole  expenditures  of  the  year. 
The  entire  amount  of  the  public  debt  remaining  due  on 


106  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

i,he  first  of  January  next,  will  be  short  of  eighty -one  mil 
lions  of  dollars. 

By  an  act  of  Congress  on  the  3d  of  March  last,  a  loan 
of  twelve  millions  of  dollars  was  authorized  at  four  and 
a  half  per  cent.,  or  an  exchange  of  stock  to  that  amount, 
of  four  and  a  half  per  cent.,  for  a  stock  of  six  per  cent., 
to  create  a  fund  for  extinguishing  an  equal  amount  of  the 
public  debt,  bearing  an  interest  of  six  per  cent.,  redeema 
ble  in  1826.  An  account  of  the  measures  taken  to  give 
effect  to  this  act  will  be  laid  before  you  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury.  As  the  object  which  it  had  in  view  has 
been  but  partially  accomplished,  it  will  be  for  the  consi 
deration  of  Congress,  whether  the  power  with  which  it 
clothed  the  executive  should  not  be  renewed  at  an  early 
day  of  the  present  session,  and  under  what  modifications. 

The  act  of  Congress  of  the  3d  of  March  last,  directing 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  subscribe,  in  the  name 
and  for  the  use  of  the  United  States,  for  one  thousand  five 
hundred  shares  of  the  capital  slock  of  the  Chesapeake  and 
Delaware  Canal  company,  has  been  executed  by  the  ac 
tual  subscription  for  the  amount  specified  ;  and  such 
other  measures  have  been  adopted  by  that  officer,  under 
the  act,  as  the  ^fulfilment  of  its  intentions  requires.  The 
latest  accounts  received  of  this  important  undertaking,  au 
thorize  the  belief  that  it  is  in  successful  progress. 

The  payments  into  the  treasury  from  proceeds  of  the 
sales  of  the  public  lands,  during  the  present  year,  were 
estimated  at  one  million  of  dollars.  The  actual  receipts 
of  the  first  two  quarters  have  fallen  very  little  short  of 
that  sum:  it  is  not  expected  that  the  second  half  of  the 
year  will  be  equally  productive ;  but  the  income  of  the 
year,  from  that  source,  may  now  be  safely  estimated  at  a 
million  and  a  half.  The  ant  of  Congress  of  the  18th  of 
May,  1824,  to  provide  for  the  extinguishment  of  the  debt 
due  to  the  United  States  by  the  purchasers  of  public  lands, 
was  limited,  in  its  operation  of  relief  to  the  purchaser,  to 
the  10th  of  April  last.  Its  effect  at  the  end  of  the  quar 
ter  during  which  it  expired,  was  to  reduce  that  debt  from 
ten  to  seven  millions.  By  the  operation  of  similar  prior 
laws  of  relief,  from  and  since  that  of  2d  March,  1821, 
the  debt  had  been  reduced  from  upwards  of  twenty-two 


j.  Q.  ADAMS'  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  107 

millions  to  ten.  It  is  exceedingly  desirable  that  it  should 
be  extinguished  altogether;  and  to  facilitate  that  consum 
mation,  I  recommend  to  Congress  the  revival,  for  one 
year  more,  of  the  act  of  18th  of  May,  1824,  with  such 
provisional  modification  as  may  be  necessary  to  guard  the 
public  interests  against  fraudulent  practices  in  the  re-sale 
of  relinquished  land.  The  purchasers  of  public  lands  are 
among  the  most  useful  of  our  fellow-citizens  ;  and,  since 
the  system  of  sales  for  cash  done  has  been  introduced, 
great  indulgence  has  been  justly  extended  to  those  who  had 
previously  purchased  upon  credit.  The  debt  which  had 
been  contracted  under  the  credit  sales  had  become  un- 
wieldly,  and  its  extinction  was  alike  advantageous  to  the 
purchaser  and  the  public.  Under  the  system  of  sales,  ma 
tured  as  it  has  been  by  experience,  and  adapted  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  times,  the  lands  will  continue,  as  they 
have  become,  an  abundant  source  of  revenue  ;  and  when 
the  pledge  of  them  to  the  public  creditor  shall  have  been 
redeemed,  by  the  entire  discharge  of  the  national  debt,  the 
swelling  tide  of  wealth  with  which  they  replenish  the  com 
mon  treasury,  may  be  made  to  reflow  in  unfailing  streams 
of  improvement,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  ocean. 

The  condition  of  the  various  branches  of  the  public 
service  resorting  from  the  Department  of  War,  and  their 
administration  during  the  current  year,  will  be  exhibited 
in  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  the  accompa 
nying  documents,  herewith  communicated.  The  organi 
zation  and  discipline  of  the  army  are  effective  and  satis 
factory.  To  counteract  the  prevalence  of  desertion 
among  the  troops,  it  has  been  suggested  to  withhold  from 
the  men  a  small  portion  of  their  monthly  pay,  until  the 
period  of  their  discharge  ;  and  some  expedient  appears  to 
be  necessary*  to  preserve  and  maintain  among  the  officers 
so  much  of  the  art  of  horsemanship  as  could  scarcely  fail 
to  be  found  wanting  on  the  possibly  sudden  eruption  of  a 
war,  which  should  overtake  us  unprovided  with  a  single 
corps  of  cavalry.  The  Military  Academy  at  West  Point, 
under  the  restrictions  of  a  severe  but  paternal  superinten 
dence,  recommends  itself  more  and  more  to  the  patron 
age  of  the  nation  ;  and  the  number  of  meritorious  offi 
cers  which  it  forms  and  introduces  to  the  public  ser- 


108  THK  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

vice,  furnishes  ihe  means  of  multiplying  the  undertaking 
of  public  improvements,  to  which  their  acquirements  at 
that  institution  are  peculiarly  adapted.  The  school  of 
artillery  practice,  established  at  Fortress  Monroe,  is  well 
suited  to  the  same  purpose,  and  may  need  the  aid  of  fur 
ther  legislative  provision  to  the  same  end.  The  reports 
of  the  various  officers  at  the  head  of  the  administrative 
branches  of  the  military  service,  connected  with  the  quar 
tering,  clothing,  subsistence,  health  and  pay  of  the  army, 
exhibit  the  assiduous  vigilance  of  those  officers  in  the  per 
formance  of  their  respective  duties,  and  the  faithful  ac 
countability  which  has  pervaded  every  part  of  the  system. 

Our  relations  with  the  numerous  tribes  of  aboriginal 
natives  of  this  country,  scattered  over  its  extensive  sur 
face,  and  so  dependent,  even  for  their  existence,  upon  our 
power,  have  been  during  the  present  year  highly  interest 
ing.  An  act  of  Congress  of  the  25th  of  May,  1824, 
made  an  appropriation  to  defray  the  expenses  of  making 
treaties  of  trade  and  friendship  with  the  Indian  tribes  be 
yond  the  Mississippi.  An  act  of  the  3d  of  March,  1825, 
authorized  treaties  to  be  nade  with  the  Indians  for  their 
consent  to  the  making  of  a  road  from  the  frontier  of  Mis 
souri  to  that  of  New  Mexico.  And  another  act,  of  the 
same  date,  provided  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  hold 
ing  treaties  with  the  Sioux,  Chippewas,  Menomonees, 
Sacs,  Foxes,  &c.,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  boun 
daries  and  promoting  peace  between  said  tribes.  The 
first  and  the  last  objects  of  these  acts  have  been  accom 
plished  ;  and  the  second  is  yet  in  a  process  of  execution. 
The  treaties  which,  since  the  last  session  of  Congress, 
have  been  concluded  with  the  several  tribes,  will  be  laid 
before  the  Senate  for  their  consideration,  conformably  to 
the  constitution.  They  comprise  large  and  valuable 
acquisitions  of  territory;  and  they  secure  an  adjustment 
of  boundaries,  and  give  pledges  of  permanent  peace  be 
tween  several  tribes  which  had  been  long  waging  bloody 
wars  against  each  other. 

On  the  12th  of  February  last,  a  treaty  was  signed  at 
the  Indian  Springs,  between  commissioners  appointed  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  certain  chiefs  and  indi- 


j.  Q.  ADAMS'  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  109 

viduals  of  the  Creek  nation  of  Indians,  which  was  re 
ceived  at  the  seat  of  government  only  a  very  few  days  be 
fore  the  close  of  the  last  session  of  Congress  and  of  the 
late  administration.  The  advice  and  consent  of  the  Sen 
ate  was  given  to  it  on  the  third  of  March,  too  late  for  it  to 
receive  the  ratification  of  the  then  President  of  the  United 
States  :  it  was  ratified  on  the  7th  of  March,  under  the 
unsuspecting  impression  that  it  had  been  negotiated  in 
good  faith  and  in  the  confidence  inspired  by  the  recom 
mendation  of  the  Senate.  The  subsequent  transactions  in 
relation  to  this  treaty  will  form  the  subject  of  a  separate 
communication. 

The  appropriations  made  by  Congress  for  public  works, 
as  \\ell  in  the  construction  of  fortifications,  as  for  pur 
poses  of  internal  improvement,  so  for  as  they  have  been 
expended,  have  been  faithfully  applied.  Their  progress 
has  been  delayed  by  the  want  of  suitable  officers  for  su 
perintending  them.  An  increase  of  both  the  corps  of 
engineers,  military  and  topographical,  was  recommended 
by  my  jpedecessor  at  the  last  session  of  Congress.  T'he 
reasons  upon  which  that  recommendation  was  founded, 
subsist  in  all  their  force,  and  have  acquired  additional 
urgency  since  that  time.  It  may  also  be  expedient  to 
organize  the  topographical  engineers  into  a  corps  similar 
to  the  present  establishment  of  the  corps  of  engineers. 
The  Military  Academy  at  West  Point  will  furnish,  from 
the  cadets  annually  graduated  there,  officers  well  quali 
fied  for  carrying  this  measure  into  effect. 

The  board  of  engineers  for  internal  improvement,  ap 
pointed  for  carrying  into  execution  the  act  of  Congress 
of  30th  April,  1824,  "  to  procure  the  necessary  surveys, 
plans  and  estimates,  on  the  subject  of  roads  and  canals," 
have  been  actively  engaged  in  that  service  from  the  close 
of  the  last  session  of  Congress.  They  have  completed 
the  surveys  necessary  for  ascertaining  the  practicability 
of  a  canal  from  the  Chesapeake  bay  to  the  Ohio  river, 
and  are  preparing  a  full  report  on  that  subject,  which, 
when  completed,  will  be  laid  before  you.  The  same  ob 
servation  is  to  be  made  with  regard  to  the  two  other  ob 
jects  of  national  importance,  upon  which  the  board  have 
been  occupied;  namely,  the  acGomplishmpnt  of  a  natiou- 
10 


110  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

$il  road  from  this  city  to  New  Orleans,  and  the  practica 
bility  of  uniting-  the  waters  of  Lake  Memphremagog  with 
Connecticut  river,  and  the  improvement  of  the  naviga 
tion  of  that  river.  The  surveys  have  been  made,  and  are 
nearly  completed.  The  report  may  be  expected  at  an 
early  period  during  the  present  session  of  Congress. 

The  acts  of  Congress  of  the  last  session,  relative  to  the 
surveying,  marking,  or  laying  out  roads  in  the  territory 
of  Florida,  Arkansas,  and  Michigan,  from  Missouri  to 
Mexico,  and  for  the  continuation  of  the  Cumberland  road, 
are,  some  of  them,  fully  executed,  and  others  in  the  pro 
cess  of  execution.  Those  for  completing  or  commencing 
fortifications,  have  been  delayed  only  so  far  as  the  corps 
of  engineers  have  been  inadequate  to  furnish  officers  for 
the  necessary  superintendence  of  the  works.  Under  the 
act  confirming  the  statutes  of  Virginia  and  Maryland,  in 
corporating  the  Chesapeake  and  6hio  Canal  Company, 
three  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  have 
been  appointed  for  opening  books  and  receiving  subscrip 
tions,  in  concert  with  alike  number  of  comnttssioners 
appointed  on  the  part  of  each  of  those  states.  A  meet 
ing  of  the  commissioners  has  been  postponed,  to  await, 
the  definitive  report  of  the  board  of  engineers.  The  light 
houses  and  monuments  for  the  safety  of  our  commerce 
and  mariners  ;  the  works  for  the  security  of  Plymouth 
Beach,  and  for  the  preservation  of  the  islands  in  Boston 
harbor,  have  received  the  attention  required  by  the  laws 
relating  to  those  objects,  respectively.  The  continuation 
of  the  Cumberland  road,  the  most  important  of  them  all, 
after  surmounting  no  inconsiderable  difficulty  in  fixing 
upon  the  direction  of  the  road,  has  commenced  under 
the  most  promising  auspices,  with  the  improvements  of 
recent  invention  in  the  mode  of  construction,  and  with 
the  advantage  of  a  great  reduction  in  the  comparative 
cost  of  the  work. 

The  operation  of  the  laws  relating  to  the  revolutionary 
pensioners  may  deserve  the  renewed  consideration  of 
Congress.  The  act  of  the  18th  March,  1818,  while  it 
made  provision  for  many  meritorious  and  indigent  citi 
zens  who  had  served  in  the  war  of  independence,  opened 
a  door  to  numerous  abuses  an-d  impositions.  To  remedy 


j.  Q.  ADAMS'  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  1 1 1 

this,  the  act  of  1st  May,  1820,  exacted  proofs  of  absolute 
indigence,  which  many  really  in  want  were  unable,  and 
all,  susceptible  of  that  delicacy  which  is  allied  to  many 
virtues,  must  be  deeply  reluctant  to  give.  The  result  has 
been,  that  some  among  the  least  deserving  have  been  re 
tained,  and  some  in  whom  the  requisites  both  of  worth  and 
want  were  combined,  have  been  stricken  from  the  list.  As 
the  numbers  of  these  venerable  relics  of  an  age  gone  by,  di 
minish;  as  the  decays  of  body,  mind  and  estate,  of  those 
that  survive,  must,  in  the  common  course  of  nature,  in 
crease  ;  should  not  a  more  liberal  portion  of  indulgence 
be  dealt  out  to  them  ?  May  not  the  want  in  most  instances 
be  inferred  from  the  demand,  when  the  service  can  be 
duly  proved  ;  and  may  not  the  last  days  of  human  infirmity 
be  spared  the  mortification  of  purchasing  a  pittance  of  re 
lief,  only  by  the  exposure  of  its  own  necessities  ?  I  sub 
mit  to  Congress  the  expediency  of  providing  for  individu 
al  cases  of  this  description,  by  special  enactment,  or  of 
revising  the  act  of  the  1st  of  May,  1820,  with  a  view  to 
mitigate  the  rigor  of  its  exclusions,  in  favor  of  persons 
to  whom  charity,  now  bestowed,  can  scarcely  discharge 
the  debt  of  justice. 

The  portion  of  the  naval  force  of  the  Union,  in  actual 
service,  has  been  chiefly  employed  on  three  stations  :  the 
Mediterranean,  the  coasts  of  South  America  bordering 
on  the  Pacific  ocean,  and  the  West  Indies.  An  occasion 
al  cruiser  has  been  sent  to  range  along  the  African  shores 
most  polluted  by  the  traffic  of  slaves  ;  one  armed  vessel 
has  been  stationed  on  the  coast  of  our  eastern  boundary, 
to  cruise  along  the  fishing  grounds  in  Hudson's  Bay,  and 
on  the  coast  of  Labrador  ;  and  the  first  service  of  a  new 
frigate  has  been  performed,  in  restoring  to  his  native  soil 
and  domestic  enjoyments,  the  veteran  hero  whose  youth 
ful  blood  and  treasure  had  freely  flowed  in  the  cause  of 
our  country's  independence,  and  whose  whole  life  has 
been  a  series  of  services  and  sacrifices  to  the  improve 
ment  of  his  fellow-men.  The  visit  of  General  Lafayette, 
alike  honorable  to  himself  and  to  our  country,  closed,  as 
it  had  commenced,  with  the  most  affecting  testimonials 
of  devoted  attachment  on  his  part,  and  of  unbounded 
gratitude  of  this  people  to  him  in  return.  It  will  form, 


112  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

hereafter,  a  pleasing  incident  in  the  annals  of  our  Union, 
giving  to  real  history  the  intense  interest  of  romance, 
and  signally  marking  the  unpurchasable  tribute  of  a  great 
nation's  social  affections  to  the  disinterested  champion  of 
the  liberties  of  human  kind. 

The  constant  maintenance  of  a  small  squadron  in  the 
Mediterranean,  is  a  necessary  substitute  for  the  humilia 
ting  alternative  of  paying  tribute  for  the  security  of  our 
commerce  in  that  sea,  and  for  a  precarious  peace,  at  the 
mercy  of  every  caprice  of  four  Barbary  states,  by  whom 
it  was  liable  to  be  violated.  An  additional  motive  for 
keeping  a  respectable  force  stationed  there  at  this  time, 
is  found  in  the  maritime  war  raging  between  the  Greeks 
and  the  Turks  ;  and  in  which  the  neutral  navigation  of 
this  Union  is  always  in  danger  of  outrage  and  depreda 
tion.  A  few  instances  have  occurred  of  such  depreda 
tions  upon  our  merchant  vessels  by  privateers  or  pirates 
wearing  the  Grecian  flag,  but  without  real  authority  from 
the  Greek  or  any  other  government.  The  heroic  strug 
gles  of  the  Greeks  themselves,  in  which  our  warmest  sym 
pathies  as  freemen  and  Christians  have  been  engaged,  have 
continued  to  be  maintained  with  vicissitudes  of  success 
adverse  and  favorable. 

Similar  motives  have  rendered  expedient  the  keep 
ing  of  a  like  force  on  the  coasts  of  Peru  and  Chili,  on 
the  Pacific.  The  irregular  and  convulsive  character  of 
the  war  upon  the  shores,  has  been  extended  to  the  con 
flicts  upon  the  ocean.  An  active  warfare  has  been  kept 
up  for  years,  with  alternate  success,  though  generally  to 
the  advantage  of  the  American  patriots.  But  their  naval 
forces  have  not  always  been  under  the  control  of  their 
own  governments.  Blockades,  unjustifiable  under  any  ac 
knowledged  principles  of  international  law,  have  been 
proclaimed  by  officers  in  command  ;  and  though  disavow 
ed  by  the  supreme  authorities,  the  protection  of  our  own 
commerce  against  them  has  been  made  a  cause  of  com 
plaint  and  erroneous  imputations  against  some  of  the  most 
gallant  officers  of  our  navy.  Complaints  equally  ground 
less  have  been  made  by  the  commanders  of  the  Spanish 
royal  forces  in  those  seas  ;  but  the  most  effective  protec 
tion  to  our  commerce  has  been  the  fla?  and  the  firmness 


j.  Q.  ADAMS'  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  113 

of  our  own  commanding  officers.  The  cessation  of  the 
war,  by  the  complete  triumph  of  the  patriot  cause,  has 
removed,  it  is  hoped,  all  cause  of  dissention  with  one 
party,  and  all  vestige  of  force  of  the  other.  But  an  un 
settled  coast  of  many  degrees  of  latitude,  forming  a  part 
of  our  own  territory,  and  a  flourishing  commerce  and  fish 
ery,  extending  to  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  and  to  China, 
still  require  that  the  protecting  power  of  the  Union 
should  be  displayed  under  its  flag,  as  well  upon  the  ocean 
as  upon  the  land. 

The  objects  of  the  West  Indies  squadron  have  been, 
to  carry  into  execution  the  laws  for  the  suppression  of  the 
African  slave  trade  ;  for  the  protection  of  our  commerce 
against  vessels  of  piratical  character,  though  bearing 
commissions  from  either  of  the  belligerent  parties :  for 
its  protection  against  open  and  unequivocal  pirates. 
These  objects,  during  the  present  year,  have  been  ac 
complished  more  effectually  than  at  any  former  period. 
The  African  slave  trade  has  long  been  excluded  from  the 
use  of  our  flag;  and  if  some  few  citizens  of  our  country 
have  continued  to  set  the  laws  of  the  Union,  as  well  as 
those  of  nature  and  humanity,  at  defiance,  by  persevering 
in  that  abominable  traffic,  it  has  been  only  by  sheltering 
themselves  under  the  banners  of  other  nations,  less  earn 
est  for  the  total  extinction  of  the  trade  than  ours.  The 
irregular  privateers  have,  within  the  last  year,  been  in  a 
great  measure  banished  from  those  seas  ;  and  the  pirates, 
for  months  past,  appear  to  have  been  almost  entirely 
swept  away  from  the  borders  and  the  shores  of  the  two 
Spanish  islands  in  those  regions.  The  active,  perseve 
ring,  and  unremitted  energy  of  Captain  Warrington, 
and  of  the  officers  and  men  under  his  command,  on  that 
trying  and  perilous  service,  have  been  crowned  with  sig 
nal  success,  and  are  entitled  to  the  approbation  of  their 
country.  But  experience  has  shown  that  not  even  a 
temporary  suspension  or  relaxation  from  assiduity  can  be 
indulged  on  that  station  without  reproducing  piracy  and 
murder  in  all  their  horrors ;  nor  is  it  probable  that,  for 
years  to  come,  our  immensely  valuable  commerce  in  those 
seas  can  navigate  in  security,  without  the  steady  contin 
uance  of  an  armed  force  devoted  to  its  protection. 
10* 


114  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

It  were  indeed  a  vain  and  dangerous  illusion  to  believe 
that  in  the  present  or  probable  condition  of  human  socie 
ty,  a  commerce  so  extensive  and  so  rich  as>  ours  could 
exist  and  be  pursued  in  safety,  without  the  continual  sup 
port  of  a  military  marine — the  only  arm  by  which  the 
power  of  this  confederacy  can  be  estimated  or  felt  by 
foreign  nations,  and  the  only  standing militaiy  force  which 
can  never  be  dangerous  to  our  own  liberties  at  home.  A 
permanent  naval  peace  establishment,  therefore,  adapted 
to  our  present  condition,  and  adaptable  to  that  gigantic 
growth  with  which  the  nation  is  advancing  in  its  career, 
is  among  the  subjects  which  have  already  occupied  the 
foresight  of  the  last  Congress,  and  which  will  deserve 
your  serious  deliberations.  Our  navy,  commenced  at  an 
early  period  of  our  present  political  organization,  upon  a 
scale  commensurate  with  the  incipient  energies,  the  scan 
ty  resources,  and  the  comparative  indigence  of  our  infan 
cy,  was  even  then  found  adequate  to  cope  with  all  the 
powers  of  Barbary,  save  the  first,  and  with  one  of  the 
principal  maritime  powers  of  Europe. 

At  a  period  of  further  advancement,  but  with  little  ac 
cession  of  strength,  it  not  only  sustained  with  honor  the 
most  unequal  of  conflicts,  but  covered  itself  and  our  coun 
try  with  unfading  glory.  But  it  is  only  since  the  close 
of  the  late  war  that,  by  the  numbers  and  force  of  the 
ships  of  which  it  was  composed,  it  could  deserve  the 
name  of  a  navy.  Yet  it  retains  nearly  the  same  organi 
zation  as  when  it  consisted  of  only  five  frigates.  The 
rules  and  regulations  by  which  it  is  governed  earnestly 
call  for  revision  ;  and  the  want  of  a  naval  school  of  in 
struction,  corresponding  with  the  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point,  for  the  formation  of  scientific  and  accom 
plished  officers,  is  felt  with  daily  increasing  aggravation. 

The  act  of  Congress  of  26th  of  May,  1824,  authori 
zing  an  examination  and  survey  of  the  harbor  of  Charles 
ton,  in  South  Carolina,  of  St.  Mary's,  in  Georgia,  and  of 
the  coast  of  Florida,  and  for  other  purposes,  has  been 
executed  so  far  as  the  appropriation  would  admit.  Those 
of  the  third  of  March  last,  authorizing  the  establish 
ment  of  a  navy  yard  and  depot  on  the  coast  of  Florida, 
in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  authorizing  the  building  of 


j.  Q.  ADAMS'  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  lib 

ten  sloops  of  war,  and  for  other  purposes,  are  in  the 
course  of  execution  :  for  the  particulars  of  which  and 
other  objects  connected  with  this  department,  I  refer  to 
the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  herewith  commu 
nicated. 

A  report  from  the  Postmaster-general  is  also  submit 
ted,  exhibiting  the  present  nourishing  condition  of  that 
department.  For  the  first  time  for  many  years,  the  re 
ceipts  for  the  year  ending  on  the  first  of  July  last,  ex 
ceeded  the  expenditures  during  the  same  period,  to  the 
amount  of  more  than  forty-five  thousand  dollars.  Other 
facts,  equally  creditable  to  the  administration  of  this  de 
partment,  are,  that  in  two  years  from  the  first  of  July, 
1823,  an  improvement  of  more  than  one  hundred  and 
eighty-five  thousand  dollars,  in  its  pecuniary  affairs,  has 
been  realized ;  that,  in  the  same  interval,  the  increase  of 
the  transportation  of  the  mail  has  exceeded  one  million 
five  hundred  thousand  miles  annually  ;  and  that  one  thou 
sand  and  forty  new  post-offices  have  been  established. 
It  hence  appears,  that  under  judicious  management,  the 
income  from  this  establishment  may  be  relied  on  as  fully 
adequate  to  defray  its  expenses  ;  and  that,  by  the  discon 
tinuance  of  post  roads,  altogether  unproductive,  others  of 
more  useful  character  may  be  opened,  till  the  circulation 
of  the  mail  shall  keep  pace  with  the  spread  of  our  popu 
lation,  and  the  comforts  of  friendly  correspondence,  the 
exchanges  of  internal  traffic,  and  the  lights  of  the  period 
ical  press,  shall  be  distributed  to  the  remotest  corners  of 
the  Union,  at  a  charge  scarcely  perceptible  to  any  indi 
vidual,  and  without  the  cost  of  a  dollar  to  the  public  trea 
sury. 

Upon  this  first  occasion  of  addressing  the  legislature 
of  the  Union,  with  which  I  have  been  honored,  in  pre 
senting  to  their  view  the  execution,  so  far  as  it  has  been 
effected,  of  the  measures  sanctioned  by  them,  for  promo 
ting  the  internal  improvement  of  our  country,  I  cannot 
close  the  communication  without  recommending  to  their 
calm  and  persevering  consideration  the  general  prin 
ciple  in  a  more  enlarged  extent.  The  great  object  of 
the  institution  of  civil  government  is  the  improvement 
of  the  condition  of  those  who  are  parties  to  the  social 


116  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

compact.  And  no  government,  in  whatever  form  con 
stituted,  can  accomplish  the  lawful  ends  of  its  institution, 
but  in  proportion  as  it  improves  the  condition  of  those 
over  whom  it  is  established.  Roads  and  canals,  by  mul 
tiplying  and  facilitating  the  communications  and  inter 
course  between  distant  regions  and  multitudes  of  men, 
are  among  the  most  important  means  of  improvement, 
But  moral,  political  and  intellectual  improvement,  are 
duties  assigned  by  the  Author  of  eur  existence,  to  social, 
no  less  than  to  individual  man.  For  the  fulfilment  of 
those  duties,  governments  are  invested  with  power;  and, 
to  the  attainment  of  the  end,  the  progressive  improve 
ment  of  the  condition  of  the  governed,  the  exercise  of 
delegated  powers  is  a  duty  as  sacred  and  indispensable, 
as  the  usurpation  of  powers  not  granted  is  criminal  and 
odious.  Among  the  first,  perhaps  the  very  first  instru 
ment  for  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  men,  is 
knowledge;  and  to  the  acquisition  of  much  of  the  know 
ledge  adapted  to  the  wants,  the  comforts,  and  enjoyments 
of  human  life,  public  institutions  and  seminaries  of 
learning  are  essential.  So  convinced  of  this  was  the 
first  of  my  predecessors  in  this  office,  now  first  in  the 
memory  as,  living,  he  was  first  in  the  hearts  of  our  coun 
try,  that  once  and  again,  in  his  addresses  to  the  Con 
gresses  with  whom  he  co-operated  in  the  public  service, 
he  earnestly  recommended  the  establishment  of  seminaries 
of  learning,  to  prepare  for  all  the  emergencies  of  peace 
and  war — a  national  university,  and  a  military  academy. 
With  respect  to  the  latter,  had  he  lived  to  the  present 
day,  in  turning  his  eyes  to  the  institution  at  West  Point, 
he  would  have  enjoyed  the  gratification  of  his  most  ear 
nest  wishes.  But,  in  surveying  the  city  which  has  been 
honored  with  his  name,  he  would  have  seen  the  spot  of 
earth  which  he  had  destined  and  bequeathed  to  the  use 
and  benefit  of  his  country  as  the  site  for  a  university,  still 
bare  and  barren. 

In  assuming  her  station  among  the  civilized  nations  of 
the  earth,  it  would  seem  that  our  country  had  contracted 
the  engagement  to  contribute  her  share  of  mind,  of  labor, 
and  of  expense,  to  the  improvement  of  those  parts  of 
knowledge  which  lie  beyond  the  reach  of  individual 


j.  Q.  ADAMS'  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  117 

acquisition;  and  particularly  to  geographical  and  astro 
nomical  science.  Looking  back  to  the  history  only  of 
half  the  century  since  the  declaration  of  our  indepen 
dence,  and  observing  the  generous  emulation  with  which 
the  governments  of  France,  Great  Britain,  and  Russia, 
have  devoted  the  genius,  the  intelligence,  the  treasures 
of  their  respective  nations,  to  the  common  improvement 
of  the  species  in  these  branches  of  science,  is  it  not  in 
cumbent  upon  us  to  inquire  whether  we  are  not  bound 
by  obligations  of  a  high  and  honorable  character  to  con 
tribute  our  portion  of  energy  and  exertion  to  the  common 
stock?  The  voyages  of  discovery  prosecuted  in  the 
course  of  that  time  at  the  expense  of  those  nations,  have 
not  only  redounded  to  their  glory,  but  to  the  improvement 
of  human  knowledge.  We  have  been  partakers  of  that 
improvement,  and  owe  for  it  a  sacred  debt,  not  only  of 
gratitude,  but  of  equal  and  proportional  exertion  in  the 
same  common  cause.  Of  the  cost  of  these  undertakings, 
if  the  mere  expenditures  of  outfit,  equipment,  and  com 
pletion  of  the  expeditions,  were  to  be  considered  the 
only  charges,  it  would  be  unworthy  of  a  great  and  gene 
rous  nation  to  take  a  second  thought.  One  hundred 
expeditions  of  circumnavigation,  like  those  of  Cook  and 
La  Perouse,  would  not  burden  the  exchequer  of  the  na 
tion  fitting  them  out,  so  much  as  the  ways  and  means  of 
defraying  a  single  campaign  in  war.  But  if  we  take 
into  the  account  the  lives  of  those  benefactors  of  man 
kind,  of  which  their  services  in  the  cause  of  their  species 
were  the  purchase,  how  shall  the  cost  of  those  heroic 
enterprises  be  estimated?  And  what  compensation  can 
be  made  to  them,  or  to  their  countries  for  them  ?  Is  it 
not  by  bearing  them  in  affectionate  remembrance  ?  Is  it 
not  still  more  by  imitating  their  example?  by  enabling 
countrymen  of  our  own  to  pursue  the  same  career,  and 
to  hazard  their  lives  in  the  same  cause? 

On  inviting  the  attention  of  Congress  on  the  subject  of 
internal  improvements,  upon  a  view  thus  enlarged,  it  is 
not  my  design  to  recommend  the  equipment  of  an  expe 
dition  for  circumnavigating  the  globe  for  purposes  of 
scientific  research  and  inquiry.  We  have  objects  of 
useful  investigation  nearer  home,  and  to  which  our  cares 


118  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

may  be  more  beneficially  applied.  The  imtitor  of  our 
own  territories  has  yet  been  very  imperfectly  explored. 
Our  coasts,  along  many  degrees  of  latitude  upon  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific  ocean,  though  much  frequented  by 
our  spirited  commercial  navigators,  have  been  barely 
visited  by  our  public  ships.  The  river  of  the  west,  first 
fully  discovered  and  navigated  by  a  countryman  of  our 
own,  still  bears  the  name  of  the  ship  in  which  he  as 
cended  its  waters,  and  claims  the  protection  of  our  armed 
national  flag  at  its  mouth.  With  the  establishment  of  a 
military  post  there,  or  at  some  othei  point  of  that  coast, 
recommended  by  my  predecessor,  and  already  matured 
in  the  deliberations  of  the  last  Congress,  I  would  suggest 
the  expediency  of  connecting  the  equipment  of  a  public 
ship  for  the  exploration  of  the  whole  north-west  coast  of 
this  continent. 

The  establishment  of  a  uniform  standard  of  weights 
and  measures,  was  one  of  the  specific  objects  contem 
plated  in  the  formation  of  our  constitution  ;  and  to  fix 
that  standard  was  one  of  the  powers  delegated  by  express 
terms,  in  that  instrument,  to  Congress.  The  governments 
of  Great  Britain  and  France  have  scarcely  ceased  to  be 
occupied  with  inquiries  and  speculations  on  the  same 
subject,  since  the  existence  of  our  constitution ;  and 
with  them  it  has  expanded  into  profound,  laborious,  and 
expensive  researches  into  the  figure  of  the  earth,  and  the 
comparative  length  of  the  pendulum  vibrating  seconds  in 
various  latitudes,  from  the  equator  to  the  pole.  These 
researches  have  resulted  in  the  composition  and  publica 
tion  of  several  works  highly  interesting  to  the  cause  ot 
science.  The  experiments  are  yet  in  the  process  of  per 
formance.  Some  of  them  have  recently  been  made  on 
our  own  shores,  within  the  walls  of  one  of  our  own  col 
leges,  and  partly  by  one  of  our  own  fellow-citizens.  It 
would  be  honorable  to  our  country  if  the  sequel  of  the 
same  experiments  should  be  countenanced  by  the  patron 
age  of  our  government,  as  they  have  hitherto  been  by 
those  of  France  and  Greet  Britain. 

Connected  with  the  establishment  of  a  university,  or 
separate  from  it,  might  be  undertaken  the  erection  o.  an 
astronomical  observatory,  with  provision  for  the  support 


j.  Q.  ADAMS'  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  1 19 

of  an  astronomer,  to  be  in  constant  attendance  of  ob 
servation  upon  the  phenomena  of  the  heavens  ;  and  for 
the  periodical  publication  of  his  observations.  It  is  with 
no  feeling  of  pride,  as  an  American,  that  the  remark  may 
be  made,  that,  on  the  comparatively  small  territorial  surface 
of  Europe,  there  are  existing  upwards  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  of  these  light-houses  of  the  skies  ;  while  through 
out  the  whole  American  hemisphere  there  is  not  one. 
If  we  reflect  a  moment  upon  the  discoveries  which,  in 
the  last  four  centuries,  have  been  made  in  the  physical 
constitution  of  the  universe,  by  the  means  of  these  build 
ings,  and  of  observers  stationed  in  them,  shall  we  doubt 
of  their  usefulness  to  every  nation  ?  And  while  scarcely 
a  year  passes  over  our  heads  without  bringing  some  new 
astronomical  discovery  to  light,  which  we  must  fain  re 
ceive  at  second  hand  from  Europe,  are  we  not  cutting 
ourselves  off  from  the  means  of  returning  light  for  light, 
while  we  have  neither  observatory  nor  observer  upon 
our  half  of  the  globe,  and  the  earth  revolves  in  perpetual 
darkness  to  our  unsearching  eyes? 

When,  on  the  25th  of  October,  1791,  the  first  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  announced  to  Congress  the  re 
sult  of  the  first  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
Union,  he  informed  them  that  the  returns  gave  the  plea 
sing  assurance  that  the  population  of  the  United  States 
bordered  on  four  millions  of  persons.  At  the  distance 
of  thirty  years  from  that  time,  the  last  enumeration,  five 
years  since  completed,  presented  a  population  bordering 
on  ten  millions.  Perhaps  of  all  the  evidences  of  a  pros 
perous  and  happy  condition  of  human  society,  the  rapid 
ity  of  the  increase  of  population  is  the  most  unequivo 
cal.  But  the  demonstration  of  our  prosperity  rests  not 
alone  upon  this  indication.  Our  commerce,  our  wealth, 
and  the  extent  of  our  territories  have  increased  in  corres 
ponding  proportions ;  and  the  number  of  independent 
communities,  associated  in  our  federal  Union,  has,  since 
that  time,  nearly  doubled.  The  legislative  representation 
of  the  states  and  people,  in  the  two  houses  of  Congress, 
has  grown  with  the  growth  of  their  constituent  bodies. 
The  House,  which  then  consisted  of  sixty-five  members, 
now  numbers  upwards  of  two  hundred.  The  Senate-, 


120  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

which  consisted  of  twenty-six  members,  has  now  forty- 
eight.  But  the  executive,  and  still  more  the  judiciary 
departments,  are  yet  in  a  great  measure  confined  to  their 
primitive  organization,  and  are  now  not  adequate  to  the 
urgent  wants  of  a  still  growing  community. 

The  naval  armaments,  which  at  an  early  period  forced 
themselves  upon  the  necessities  of  the  Union,  soon  led 
to  the  establishment  of  a  department  of  the  navy.  But 
the  departments  of  foreign  affairs  and  of  the  interior, 
which,  early  after  the  formation  of  the  government,  had 
been  united  in  one,  continue  so  united  to  this  time  to 
the  unquestionable  detriment  of  the  public  service.  The 
multiplication  of  our  relations  with  the  nations  and  go 
vernments  of  the  old  world,  has  kept  pace  with  that  of 
our  population  and  commerce,  while,  within  the  last  ten 
years,  a  new  family  of  nations,  in  our  own  hemisphere, 
has  arisen  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  with  whom 
our  intercourse,  commercial  and  political,  would,  of  it 
self,  furnish  occupation  to  an  active  and  industrious  de 
partment.  The  constitution  of  the  judiciary,  experimen 
tal  and  imperfect  as  it  was,  even  in  the  infancy  of  our 
existing  government,  is  yet  more  inadequate  to  the  admin 
istration  of  national  justice  at  our  present  maturity.  Nine 
years  have  elapsed  since  a  predecessor  in  this  office,  now 
not  the  last,  the  citizen  who  perhaps  of  all  others  through 
out  the  Union,  contributed  most  to  the  formation  and 
establishment  of  our  constitution,  in  his  valedictory  ad 
dress  to  Congress,  immediately  preceding  his  retirement 
from  public  life,  urgently  recommended  the  revision  of 
the  judiciary,  and  the  establishment  of  an  additional  exe 
cutive  department.  The  exigencies  of  the  public  service 
and  its  unavoidable  deficiencies,  as  now  in  exercise,  have 
added  yearly  cumulative  weight  to  the  considerations  pre 
sented  by  him  as  persuasive  to  the  measure ;  and  in  re 
commending  it  to  your  deliberations,  I  am  happy  to  have 
the  influence  of  his  high  authority  in  aid  of  the  uridoubt- 
ing  convictions  of  my  own  experience. 

The  laws  relating  to  the  administration  of  the  Patent 
Office  are  deserving  of  much  consideration,  and  perhaps 
susceptible  of  some  improvement.  The  grant  of  power 
to  regulate  the  action  of  Congress  on  this  subject,  has 


J.  Q.  ADAMS     FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  121 

specified  both  the  end  to  be  obtained  and  the  means  by 
which  it  is  to  be  effected,  "  to  promote  the  progress  of 
science  and  the  useful  arts,  by  securing,  for  limited  times, 
to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive  right  to  their  re 
spective  writings  and  discoveries."  If  an  honest  pride 
might  be  indulged  in  the  reflection,  that  on  the  records 
of  that  office  are  already  found  inventions,  the  usefulness 
of  which  has  scarcely  been  transcended  in  the  annals  of 
human  ingenuity,  would  not  its  exultation  be  allayed  by 
the  inquiry,  whether  the  laws  have  effectively  insured  to 
the  inventors  the  reward  destined  to  them  by  the  consti 
tution — even  a  limited  term  of  exclusive  right  to  their  dis 
coveries  ? 

On  the  24th  of  December,  1799,  it  was  resolved  by 
Congress,  that  a  marble  monument  should  be  erected  by 
the  United  States,  in  the  capitol,  at  the  city  of  Washing 
ton  ;  that  the  family  of  General  Washington  should  be 
requested  to  permit  his  body  to  be  deposited  under  it;  and 
that  the  monument  be  so  designed  as  to  commemorate 
the  great  events  of  his  military  and  political  life.  In  re 
minding  Congress  of  this  resolution,  and  that  the  monu 
ment  contemplated  by  it  remains  yet  without  execution, 
I  shall  indulge  only  the  remarks,  that  the  works  at  the 
capitol  are  approaching  to  completion  ;  that  the  consent 
of  the  family,  desired  by  the  resolution,  was  requested  and 
obtained  ;  that  a  monument  has  been  recently  erected  in 
this  city,  over  the  remains  of  another  distinguished  patriot 
of  the  revolution ;  and  that  a  spot  has  been  reserved  with 
in  the  walls  where  you  are  deliberating  for  the  benefit 
of  this  and  future  ages,  in  which  the  mortal  remains  may 
be  deposited  of  him  whose  spirit  hovers  over  you,  and 
listens  with  delight  to  every  act  of  the  representatives  of 
his  nation  which  can  tend  to  exalt  and  adorn  his  and  their 
country. 

The  constitution  under  which  you  are  assembled,  is  a 
charter  of  limited  powers.  After  full  and  solemn  delibe 
ration  upon  all  or  any  of  the  objects  which,  urged  by  an 
irresistible  sense  of  my  own  duty,  I  have  recommended 
to  your  attention,  should  you  come  to  the  conclusion,  that, 
however  desirable  in  themselves,  the  enactment  of  laws 
for  effecting  them  would  transcend  the  powers  committed 
11 


122  THE  TRUE  RKPUBLICAN. 

to  you  by  that  venerable  instrument  which  we  are  all 
bound  t.o  support ;  let  no  consideration  induce  you  to  as 
sume  the  exercise  of  powers  not  granted  to  you  by  the 
people.  But  ii  the  power  to  exercise  exclusive  legisla 
tion  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  over  the  District  of  Colum 
bia;  if  the  power  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts, 
and  excises,  to  pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common 
defence  and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States ;  if  the 
power  to  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and 
among  the  several  states,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes ;  to 
fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures;  to  establish 
post-offices  and  post-roads;  to  declare  war  ;  to  raise  and 
support  armies  ;  to  provide  and  maintain  a  navy  ;  to  dis 
pose  ot  and  make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  re 
specting  the  territory  or  other  property  belonging  to  the 
United  States ;  and  to  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  ne 
cessary  and  proper  for  carrying  these  powers  into  execu 
tion :  if  these  powers,  and  others  enumerated  in  the  con 
stitution,  may  be  effectually  brought  into-  action  by  laws 
promoting  the  improvement  of  agriculture,  commerce, 
and  manufactures,  the  cultivation  and  encouragement  of 
the  mechanic  and  of  the  elegant  arts,  the  advancement 
of  literature,  and  the  progress  of  the  sciences,  orna 
mental  and  profound ;  to  refrain  from  exercising  them 
for  the  benefit  of  the  people  themselves,  would  be  to  hide 
in  the  earth  the  talent  committed  to  our  charge — would  be 
treachery  to  the  most  sacred  of  trusts. 

The  spirit  of  improvement  is  abroad  upon  the  earth. 
It  stimulates  the  hearts  and  sharpens  the  faculties,  not  of 
our  fellow-citizens  alone,  but  of  the  nations  of  Europe, 
and  of  their  rulers.  While  dwelling  with  pleasing  satis 
faction  upon  the  superior  excellence  of  our  political  in 
stitutions,  let  us  not  be  unmindful  that  liberty  is  power ; 
that  the  nation  blessed  with  the  largest  portion  of  liberty, 
must,  in  proportion  to  its  numbers,  be  the  most  power 
ful  nation  upon  earth  ;  and  that  the  tenure  of  power  by 
man  is,  in  the  moral  purposes  of  his  Creator,  upon 
condition  that  it  shall  be  exercised  to  ends  of  beneficence, 
to  improve  the  condition  of  himself  and  his  fellow-men. 
While  foreign  nations,  less  blessed  with  that  freedom 
which  is  power  than  ourselves,  are  advancing  with  gigan- 


j.  Q.  ADAMS'  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  ]'<!3 

tic  strides  in  the  career  of  public  improvement;  were  we 
to  slumber  in  indolence,  or  fold  up  our  arms  and  proclaim 
to  the  world  that  we  are  palsied  by  the  will  of  our  consti 
tuents,  would  it  not  be  to  cast  away  the  bounties  of  Pro 
vidence,  and  doom  ourselves  to  perpetual  inferiority  ?  In 
the  course  of  the  year  now  drawing  to  its  close,  we  have 
beheld,  under  the  auspices  and  expense  of  one  state  in  our 
Union,  a  new  university  unfolding  its  portals  to  the  sons 
of  science,  and  holding  up  the  torch  of  human  improve 
ment  to  eyes  that  seek  the  light.  We  have  seen  under 
the  persevering  and  enlightened  enterprise  of  another 
state,  the  waters  of  our  western  lakes  mingle  with  those 
of  the  ocean.  If  undertakings  like  these  have  been  ac 
complished  in  the  compass  of  a  few  years,  by  the  autho 
rity  of  single  members  of  our  confederation,  can  we,  the 
representative  authorities  of  the  whole  Union,  fall  behind 
our  fellow  servants  in  the  exercise  of  the  trust  committed 
to  us  for  the  benefit  of  our  common  sovereign,  by  the  ac 
complishment  of  works  important  to  the  whole,  and  to 
which  neither  the  authority  nor  the  resources  of  any  one 
state  can  be  adequate  ? 

Finally,  fellow-citizens,  I  shall  await,  with  cheering 
hope  and  faithful  co-operation,  the  resultof  your  delibera 
tions  ;  assured  that,  without  encroaching  upon  the  pow 
ers  reserved  to  the  authorities  of  the  respective  states,  or 
to  the  people,  you  will,  with  a  due  sense  of  your  obliga 
tions  to  your  country,  and  of  the  high  responsibilities 
weighing  upon  yourselves,  give  efficacy  to  the  means  com 
mitted  to  you  for  the  common  good.  And  may  He  who 
searches  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  men,  prosper  your 
exertions  to  secure  the  blessings  of  peace  and  promote 
the  highest  welfare  of  our  country. 


124  THE  TRUE   REPUBLICAN. 

JACKSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS, 

MARCH  4,  1829. 

Fellow  Citizens : 

About  to  undertake  the  arduous  duties  that  I  have  been 
appointed  to  perform,  by  the  choice  of  a  free  people,  I 
avail  myself  of  this  customary  and  solemn  occasion  to  ex 
press  the  gratitude  which  their  confidence  inspires,  and 
to  acknowledge  the  accountability  which  my  situation  en 
joins.  While  the  magnitude  of  their  interests  convinces 
me  that  no  thanks  can  be  adequate  to  the  honor  they 
have  conferred,  it  admonishes  me  that  the  best  return  I 
can  make,  is  the  zealous  dedication  of  my  humble  abili 
ties  to  their  service  and  their  good. 

As  the  instrument  of  the  federal  constitution,  it  will 
devolve  upon  me,  for  a  stated  period,  to  execute  the  laws 
of  the  United  States ;  to  superintend  their  foreign  and 
confederate  relations  ;  to  manage  their  revenue  ;  to  com 
mand  their  forces  ;  and,  by  communications  to  the  legis 
lature,  to  watch  over  and  to  promote  their  interests  gene 
rally.  And  the  principles  of  action  by  which  I  shall 
endeavor  to  accomplish  this  circle  of  duties,  it  is  now 
proper  for  me  briefly  to  explain. 

In  administering  the  laws  of  Congress,  I  shall  keep 
steadily  in  view  the  limitations  as  well  as  the  extent  of 
the  executive  power,  trusting  thereby  to  discharge  the 
functions  of  my  office,  without  transcending  its  authority. 
With  foreign  nations,  it  will  be  my  study  to  preserve 
peace,  and  to  cultivate  friendship  on  fair  and  honorable 
terms  ;  and  in  the  adjustment  of  any  differences  that  may 
exist  or  arise,  to  exhibit  the  forbearance  becoming  a 
powerful  nation,  rather  than  the  sensibility  belonging  to 
a  gallant  people. 

In  such  measures  as  I  may  be  called  on  to  pursue,  in 
regard  to  the  rights  of  the  separate  states,  I  hope  to  be 
animated  by  a  proper  respect  for  those  sovereign  members 
of  our  Union;  taking  care  not  to  confound  the  powers 
they  have  reserved  to  themselves  with  those  they  have 
granted  to  the  confederacy. 


^'^f^ 


••' 


JACKSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  125 

The  management  of  the  public  revenue — that  search 
ing  operation  of  all  governments — is  among  the  most 
delicate  and  important  trusts  in  ours ;  and  it  will,  of 
course,  demand  no  inconsiderable  share  of  my  official 
solicitude.  Under  every  aspect  in  which  it  can  be  con 
sidered,  it  would  appear  that  advantage  must  result  from 
the  observance  of  a  strict  and  faithful  economy.  This  I 
shall  aim  at  the  more  anxiously,  both  because  it  will  facili 
tate  the  extinguishment  of  the  national  debt,  the  unne 
cessary  duration  of  which  is  incompatible  with  real  inde 
pendence,  and  because  it  will  counteract  that  tendency 
to  public  and  private  profligacy  which  a  profuse  expendi 
ture  of  money  by  the  government  is  but  too  apt  to  en 
gender.  Powerful  auxiliaries  to  the  attainment  of  this 
desirable  end,  are  to  be  found  in  the  regulations  provided 
by  the  wisdom  of  Congress  for  the  specific  appropriation 
of  public  money,  and  the  prompt  accountability  of  pub 
lic  officers.  With  regard  to  a  proper  selection  of  the 
subjects  of  impost,  with  a  view  to  revenue,  it  would  seem 
to  me  that  the  spirit  of  equity,  caution,  and  compromise, 
in  which  the  constitution  was  formed,  requires  that  the 
great  interests  of  agriculture,  commerce  and  manufac 
tures,  should  be  equally  favored,  and  that  perhaps  the  only 
exception  to  this  rule  should  consist  in  the  peculiar  en 
couragement  of  any  products  of  either  of  them  that  may 
be  found  essential  to  our  national  independence. 

Internal  improvement  and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge, 
so  far  as  they  can  be  promoted  by  the  constitutional  acts 
of  the  federal  government,  are  of  high  importance. 

Considering  standing  armies  as  dangerous  to  free  go 
vernments  in  time  of  peace,  I  shall  not  seek  to  enlarge 
our  present  establishment,  nor  to  disregard  that  salutary 
lesson  of  political  experience  which  teaches  that  the  mili 
tary  should  be  held  subordinate  to  the  civil  power.  The 
gradual  increase  of  our  navy,  whose  flag  has  displayed,  in 
distant  climes,  our  skill  in  navigation,  and  our  fame  in 
arms ;  the  preservation  of  our  forts,  arsenals,  and  dock 
yards  ;  and  the  introduction  of  progressive  improvements 
in  the  discipline  and  science  of  both  branches  of  our 
military  service,  are  so  plainly  prescribed  by  prudence 
that  I  should  be  excused  for  omitting  their  mention,  sooner 
11* 


126  THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

than  enlarging  on  their  importance.  But  the  bulwark 
of  our  defence  is  the  national  militia,  which,  in  the  pre 
sent  state  of  our  intelligence  and  population,  must  render 
us  invincible.  As  long  as  our  government  is  administered 
for  the  good  of  the  people,  and  is  regulated  by  their  will; 
as  long  as  it  secures  to  us  the  right  of  person  and  pro 
perty,  liberty  of  conscience,  and  of  the  press,  it  will  be 
worth  defending ;  and  so  long  as  it  is  worth  defending,  a 
patriotic  militia  will  cover  it  with  an  impenetrable  aegis. 
Partial  injuries  and  occasional  mortifications  we  may  be 
subjected  to  ;  but  a  million  of  armed  freemen,  possessed 
of  the  means  of  war,  can  never  be  conquered  by  a  fo 
reign  foe.  To  any  just  system,  therefore,  calculated  to 
strengthen  this  natural  safeguard  of  the  country,  I  shall 
cheerfully  lend  all  the  aid  in  my  power. 

It  will  be  my  sincere  and  constant  desire  to  observe 
towards  the  Indian  tribes  within  our  limits,  a  just  and 
liberal  policy ;  and  to  give  that,  humane  and  considerate 
attention  to  their  rights  and  their  wants,  which  are  con 
sistent  with  the  habits  of  our  government  and  the  feelings 
of  our  people. 

The  recent  demonstration  of  public  sentiment  inscribes 
on  the  list  of  executive  duties,  in  characters  too  legible 
to  be  overlooked,  the  task  of  reform  ;  which  will  require, 
particularly  the  correction  of  those  abuses  that  have 
brought  the  patronage  of  the  federal  government  into 
conflict  with  the  freedom  of  elections,  and  the  counter 
action  of  those  causes  which  have  disturbed  the  rightful 
course  of  appointment,  and  have  placed  or  continued 
power  in  unfaithful  or  incompetent  hands. 

In  the  performance  of  a  task  thus  generally  delineated, 
I  shall  endeavor  to  select  men  whose  diligence  and  talents 
will  insure,  in  their  respective  stations,  able  and  faithful 
co-operation — depending  for  the  advancement  of  the  pub 
lic  service,  more  on  the  integrity  and  zeal  of  the  public 
officers,  than  on  their  numbers. 

A  diffidence,  perhaps  too  just,  in  my  own  qualifications, 
will  teach  me  to  look  with  reverence  to  the  examples  of 
public  virtue  left  by  my  illustrious  predecessors,  and  with 
veneration  to  the  lights  that  flow  from  the  mind  that  found 
ed  and  the  mind  that  reformed  our  system.  The  same 


JACKSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  127 

diffidence  induces  me  to  hope  for  instruction  and  aid 
from  the  co-ordinate  branches  of  the  government,  and 
for  the  indulgence  and  support  of  my  fellow-citizens  gene 
rally.  And  a  firm  reliance  on  the  goodness  of  that  Pow 
er  whose  providence  mercifully  protected  our  national 
infancy,  and  has  since  upheld  our  liberties  in  various 
vicissitudes,  encourages  me  to  offer  up  my  ardent  suppli 
cations  that  He  will  continue  to  make  our  beloved  coun 
try  the  object  of  his  divine  care  and  gracious  benediction 


JACKSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE, 
DECEMBER  8,  1829. 

Fellow-Citizens  of  the  Senate, 

and  House  of  Representatives  : 

It  affords  me  pleasure  to  tender  my  friendly  greetings 
to  you  on  the  occasion  of  your  assembling  at  the  seat  of 
government,  to  enter  upon  the  important  duties  to  which 
you  have  been  called  by  the  voice  of  our  countrymen. 
The  task  devolves  on  me,  under  a  provision  of  the  consti 
tution,  to  present  to  you,  as  the  federal  legislature  of 
twenty-four  sovereign  states,  and  twelve  millions  of  happy 
people,  a  view  of  our  affairs  ;  and  to  propose  such  mea 
sures  as,  in  the  discharge  of  my  official  functions,  have 
suggested  themselves  as  necessary  to  promote  the  objects 
of  our  Union. 

In  communicating  with  you  for  the  first  time,  it  is  to 
me  a  source  of  unfeigned  satisfaction,  calling  for  mutual 
gratulation  and  devout  thanks  to  a  benign  Providence, 
that  we  are  at  peace  with  all  mankind  ;  and  that  our 
country  exhibits  the  most  cheering  evidence  of  general 
welfare  and  progressive  improvement.  Turning  our  eyes 
to  other  nations,  our  great  desire  is  to  see  our  brethren 
of  the  human  race  secured  in  the  blessings  they  enjoy  by 
ourselves,  and  advancing  in  knowledge,  in  freedom,  and 
in  social  happiness. 


128  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

Our  foreign  relations,  although  in  their  general  cha 
racter  pacific  and  friendly,  present  subjects  of  difference 
between  us  and  other  powers  of  deep  interest,  as  well  to 
the  country  at  large  as  to  many  of  our  citizens.  To  ef 
fect  an  adjustment  of  these  shall  continue  to  be  the  ob 
ject  of  my  earnest  endeavors  ;  and  notwithstanding  the 
difficulties  of  the  task,  I  do  not  allow  myself  to  appre 
hend  unfavorable  results.  Blessed  as  our  country  is  with 
every  thing  which  constitutes  national  strength,  she  is 
fully  adequate  to  the  maintenance  of  all  her  interests.  In 
discharging  the  responsible  trust  confided  to  the  executive 
in  this  respect,  it  is  my  settled  purpose  to  ask  nothing 
that  is  not  clearly  right,  and  to  submit  to  nothing  that  is 
wrong;  and  I  flatter  myself,  that,  supported  by  the  other 
branches  of  the  government,  and  by  the  intelligence  and 
patriotism  of  the  people,  we  shall  be  able,  under  the  pro 
tection  of  Providence,  to  cause  all  our  just  rights  to  be 
respected. 

Of  the  unsettled  matters  between  the  United  States 
and  other  powers,  the  most  prominent  of  those  which 
have  for  years  been  the  subject  of  negotiation  with  Eng 
land,  France,  and  Spain.  The  late  periods  at  which 
our  ministers  to  those  governments  left  the  United  States, 
render  it  impossible,  at  this  early  day,  to  inform  you  of 
what  has  been  done  on  the  subjects  with  which  they  have 
been  respectively  charged.  Relying  upon  the  justice  of 
our  views  in  relation  to  the  points  committed  to  negotia 
tion,  and  the  reciprocal  good  feeling  which  characterizes 
our  intercourse  with  those  nations,  we  have  the  best  rea 
son  to  hope  for  a  satifactory  adjustment  of  existing  dif 
ferences. 

With  Great  Britain,  alike  distinguished  in  peace  and 
war,  we  may  look  forward  to  years  of  peaceful,  honora 
ble,  and  elevated  competition.  Every  thing  in  the  condi 
tion  and  history  of  the  two  nations  is  calculated  to  inspire 
sentiments  of  mutual  respect,  and  to  carry  conviction  to 
the  minds  of  both,  that  it  is  their  policy  to  preserve  the 
most  cordial  relations.  Such  are  my  own  views  ;  and  it 
is  not  to  be  doubted  that  such  are  also  the  prevailing  sen 
timents  of  our  constituents.  Although  neither  time  nor 
opportunity  has  boon  afforded  for  a  full  development  of 


JACKSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  129 

the  policy  which  the  present  cabinet  of  Great  Britain  de 
signs  to  pursue  towards  this  country,  I  indulge  the  hope 
that  it  will  be  of  a  just  and  pacific  character  ;  and  if  this 
anticipation  be  realized,  we  may  look  with  confidence  to 
a  speedy  and  acceptable  adjustment  of  our  affairs. 

Under  the  convention  for  regulating  the  reference  to 
arbitration  the  disputed  points  of  boundary  under  the 
fifth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  the  proceedings  have 
hitherto  been  conducted  in  the  spirit  of  candor  and  libe 
rality  which  ought  ever  to  characterize  the  acts  of  sove 
reign  states,  seeking  to  adjust,  by  the  most  unexception 
able  means,  important  and  delicate  subjects  of  contention. 
The  first  statements  of  the  parties  have  been  exchanged, 
and  the  final  replication  on  our  part  is  in  a  course  of  pre 
paration.  This  subject  has  received  the  attention  de 
manded  by  its  great  and  peculiar  importance  to  a  patriotic 
member  of  this  confederacy.  The  exposition  of  our 
rights,  already  made,  is  such  as  from  the  high  reputation 
of  the  commissioners  by  whom  it  has  been  prepared,  we 
had  a  right  to  expect.  Our  interests  at  the  court  of  the 
sovereign  who  has  evinced  his  friendly  disposition,  by 
assuming  the  delicate  task  of  arbitration,  have  been  com 
mitted  to  a  citizen  of  the  state  of  Maine,  whose  charac 
ter,  talents,  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  subject, 
eminently  qualify  him  for  so  responsible  a  trust.  With 
full  confidence  in  the  justice  of  our  cause,  and  in  the  pro 
bity,  intelligence,  and  uncompromising  independence  of 
the  illustrious  arbitrator,  we  can  have  nothing  to  appre 
hend  from  the  result. 

From  France,  our  ancient  ally,  we  have  a  right  to  ex 
pect  that  justice  which  becomes  the  sovereign  of  a  pow 
erful,  intelligent,  and  magnanimous  people.  The  benefi 
cial  effects  produced  by  the  commercial  convention  of 
1822,  limited  as  are  its  provisions,  are  too  obvious  not  to 
make  a  salutary  impression  upon  the  minds  of  those  who 
are  charged  with  the  administration  of  her  government. 
Should  this  result  induce  a  disposition  to  embrace  to  their 
full  extent  the  wholesome  principles  which  constitute  our 
commercial  policy,  our  minister  to  that  court  will  be 
found  instructed  to  cherish  such  a  disposition,  and  to  aid 


130  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

in  conducting  it  to  useful  practical  conclusions.  The 
claims  of  our  citizens  for  depredations  upon  their  pro 
perty,  long  since  committed  under  the  authority,  and  in 
many  instances,  by  the  express  direction,  of  the  then  ex 
isting  government  of  France,  remained  unsatisfied;  and 
must,  therefore,  continue,  to  furnish  a  subject  of  unplea 
sant  discussion,  and  possible  collision,  between  the  two 
governments.  I  cherish,  however,  a  lively  hope,  founded 
as  well  on  the  validity  of  those  claims,  and  the  established 
policy  of  all  enlightened  governments,  as  on  the  known 
integrity  of  the  French  monarch,  that  the  injurious  delays 
of  the  past  will  find  redress  in  the  equity  of  the  future. — 
Our  minister  has  been  instructed  to  press  these  demands 
on  the  French  government  with  all  the  earnestness  which 
is  called  for  by  their  importance  and  irrefutable  justice  ; 
and  in  a  spirit  that  will  evince  the  respect  which  is  due 
to  the  feelings  of  those  from  whom  the  satisfaction  is  re 
quired. 

Our  minister  recently  appointed  to  Spain  has  been 
authorized  to  assist  in  removing  evils  alike  injurious  to 
both  countries,  either  by  concluding  a  commercial  con 
vention  upon  liberal  and  reciprocal  terms;  or  by  urging 
the  acceptance,  in  their  full  extent,  of  the  mutually  bene 
ficial  provisions  of  our  navigation  act.  He  has  also  been 
instructed  to  make  a  further  appeal  to  the  justice  of  Spain, 
in  behalf  of  our  citizens,  for  indemnity  for  spoliations 
upon  our  commerce,  committed  under  her  authority — an 
appeal  which  the  pacific  and  liberal  course  observed  on 
our  part,  and  a  due  confidence  in  the  honor  of  that  go 
vernment  authorized  us  to  expect  will  not  be  made  in 
vain. 

With  other  European  powers,  our  intercourse  is  on  the 
most  friendly  footing.  In  Russia,  placed  by  her  territo 
rial  limits,  extensive  population,  and  great  power,  high  in 
the  rank  of  nations,  the  United  States  have  always  found 
a  steadfast  friend.  Although  her  recent  invasions  of  Tur 
key  awakened  a  lively  sympathy  for  those  who  were  ex 
posed  to  the  desolations  of  war,  we  cannot  but  anticipate 
that  the  result  will  prove  favorable  to  the  cause  of  civili 
zation,  and  to  the  progress  of  human  happiness.  The 
treaty  of  peace  between  these  powers  having  been  ratified, 


JACKSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  131 

we  cannot  be  insensible  to  the  great  benefit  to  be  derived 
by  the  commerce  of  the  United  States  from  unlocking  the 
navigation  of  the  Black  Sea — a  free  passage  into  which 
is  secured  to  all  merchant  vessels  bound  to  ports  of  Rus 
sia  under  a  flag  at  peace  with  the  Porte.  This  advan 
tage,  enjoyed  upon  conditions,  by  most  of  the  powers  ol 
Europe,  has  hitherto  been  withheld  from  us.  During 
the  past  summer,  an  antecedent  but  unsuccessful  attempt 
to  obtain  it,  was  renewed  under  circumstances  which  pro 
mised  the  most  favorable  results.  Although  these  results 
have  fortunately  been  thus  in  part  attained,  further  facili 
ties  to  the  enjoyment  of  this  new  field  for  the  enterprise 
of  our  citizens  are,  in  my  opinion,  sufficiently  desirable 
to  insure  to  them  our  most  zealous  attention. 

Our  trade  with  Austria,  although  of  secondary  import 
ance,  has  been  gradually  increasing ;  and  is  now  so  ex 
tended  as  to  deserve  the  fostering  care  of  the  government. 
A  negotiation,  commenced  and  nearly  completed  with 
that  power,  by  the  late  administration,  has  been  consum 
mated  by  a  treaty  of  amity,  navigation  and  commerce, 
which  will  be  laid  before  the  Senate. 

During  the  recess  of  Congress,  o.ur  diplomatic  relations 
with  Portugal  have  been  resumed.  The  peculiar  state 
of  things  in  that  country  caused  a  suspension  of  the 
recognition  of  the  representative  who  presented  himself, 
until  an  opportunity  was  had  to  obtain  from  our  official 
organ  there,  information  regarding  the  actual,  and,  as  far 
as  practicable,  prospective  condition  of  the  authority  by 
which  the  representative  in  question  was  appointed.  This 
information  being  received,  the  application  of  the  esta 
blished  rule  of  our  government,  in  like  cases,  was  no 
longer  withheld. 

Considerable  advances  have  been  made  during  the 
present  year  in  the  adjustment  of  claims  of  our  citizens 
upon  Denmark  for  spoliations  ;  but  all  that  we  have  a  right 
to  demand  from  that  government  in  their  behalf  has  not 
yet  been  conceded.  From  the  liberal  footing,  however, 
upon  which  this  subject  has,  with  the  approbation  of  the 
claimants,  been  placed  by  the  government,  together  with 
the  uniformly  just  and  friendly  disposition  which  has  been 
evinced  by  his  Danish  majesty,  there  is  a  reasonable 


132  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

ground  to  hope  that  this  single  subject  of  difference  will 
speedily  be  removed. 

Our  relations  with  the  Barbary  powers  continue,  as 
they  have  long  been,  of  the  most  favorable  character. 
The  policy  of  keeping  an  adequate  force  in  the  Mediterra 
nean,  as  security  for  the  continuance  of  this  tranquillity 
will  be  persevered  in ;  as  well  as  a  similar  one  for  the 
protection  of  our  commerce  and  fisheries  in  the  Pacific. 

The  southern  republics  of  our  hemisphere  have  not  yet 
realized  all  the  advantages  for  which  they  have  been  so 
long  struggling.  We  trust,  however,  that  the  day  is  not 
distant  when  the  restoration  of  peace  and  internal  quiet, 
under  permanent  systems  of  government,  securing  the 
liberty,  and  promoting  the  happiness  of  the  citizens,  will 
crown,  with  complete  success,  their  long  and  arduous 
efforts  in  the  cause  of  self-government ;  and  enable  us  to 
salute  them  as  friendly  rivals  in  all  that  is  truly  great  and 
glorious. 

The  recent  invasion  of  Mexico,  and  the  effect  thereby 
produced  upon  her  domestic  policy,  must  have  a  control 
ling  influence  upon  the  great  question  of  South  Ameri 
can  emancipation.  We  have  seen  the  fell  spirit  of  civil 
dissension  rebuked,  and,  perhaps,  forever  stifled  in  that 
republic  by  the  love  of  independence.  If  it  be  true,  as 
appearances  strongly  indicate,  that  the  spirit  of  indepen 
dence  is  the  master  spirit ;  and  if  a  corresponding  senti 
ment  prevails  in  the  other  states,  this  devotion  to  liberty 
cannot  be  without  a  proper  effect  upon  the  counsels  of 
the  mother  country.  The  adoption  by  Spain  of  a  pacific 
policy  towards  her  former  colonies — an  event  consoling 
to  humanity,  and  a  blessing  to  the  world,  in  which  she 
herself  cannot  fail  largely  to  participate — may  be  most 
reasonably  expected. 

The  claims  of  our  citizens  upon  the  South  American 
governments  generally,  are  in  a  train  of  settlement,  while 
the  principal  part  of  those  upon  Brazil  have  been  adjusted; 
and  a  decree  in  council,  ordering  bonds  to  be  issued  by 
the  minister  of  the  treasury  for  their  amount,  has  received 
the  sanction  of  his  imperial  majesty.  This  event,  toge 
ther  with  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  the  treaty 
negotiated  and  concluded  in  1828,  happily  terminates  all 
serious  causes  of  difference  with  that  power. 


JACKSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  133 

Measures  have  been  taken  to  place  our  commercial  re- 
iations  with  Peru  upon  a  better  footing  than  that  upon 
which  they  have  hitherto  rested  ;  and  it'  met  by  a  proper 
disposition  on  the  part  of  that  government,  important  bene 
fits  may  be  secured  to  both  countries. 

Deeply  interested  as  we  are  in  the  prosperity  of  our 
sister  republics  ;  and  more  particularly  in  that  of  our 
immediate  neighbor,  it  would  be  most  gratifying  to  me 
were  I  permitted  to  say,  that  the  treatment  which  we  have 
received  at  her  hands  has  been  as  universally  friendly,  as 
the  early  and  constant  solicitude  manifested  by  the  United 
States  for  her  success,  gave  us  a  right  to  expect.  But  it 
becomes  my  duty  to  inform  you  that  prejudices  long  in 
dulged  by  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Mexico  against 
the  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  of 
the  United  States,  have  had  an  unfortunate  influence  upon 
the  affairs  of  the  two  countries  ;  and  have  diminished  that 
usefulness  to  his  own  which  was  justly  to  be  expected 
from  his  talents  and  zeal.  To  this  cause  in  a  great  de 
gree  is  to  be  imputed  the  failure  of  several  measures 
equally  interesting  to  both  parties  ;  but  particularly  that 
of  the  Mexican  government  to  ratify  a  treaty  negotiated 
and  concluded  in  its  own  capital,  and  under  its  own  eye. 
Under  these  circumstances,  it  appeared  expedient  to  give 
to  Mr.  Poinsett  the  option  either  to  return  or  not,  as  in 
his  judgment  the  interest  of  his  country  might  require, 
and  instructions  to  that  end  were  prepared  ;  but  before 
they  could  be  despatched,  a  communication  was  received 
from  the  government  of  Mexico,  through  its  charge  d'af 
faires  here,  requesting  the  recall  of  our  minister.  This 
was  promptly  complied  with;  and  a  representative  of  a 
rank  corresponding  with  that  of  the  Mexican  diplomatic 
agent  near  this  government  was  appointed.  Our  conduct 
towards  that  republic  has  been  uniformly  of  the  most 
friendly  character;  and  having  thus  removed  the  only 
alleged  obstacle  to  harmonious  intercourse,  I  cannot  but 
hope  that  an  advantageous  change  will  occur  in  our  affairs. 

Injustice  to  Mr.  Poinsett,  it  is  proper  to  say,  that  my 
immediate  compliance  with  the  application  for  his  recall, 
and  the  appointment  of  a  successor,  are  not  to  be  ascri 
bed  to  any  evidence  that  the  imputation  of  an  improper 
12 


134  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

interference  by  him,  in  the  local  politics  of  Mexico,  was 
well  founded ;  nor  to  a  want  of  confidence  in  his  talents 
or  integrity ;  and  to  add,  that  the  truth  of  that  charge  has 
never  been  affirmed  by  the  federal  government  of  Mexico, 
in  their  communications  with  this. 

I  consider  it  one  of  the  most  urgent  of  my  duties  to 
bring  to  your  attention  the  propriety  of  amending  that 
part  of  our  constitution  which  relates  to  the  election  of 
President  and  Vice-President.  Our  system  of  govern 
ment  was,  by  its  framers,  deemed  an  experiment ;  and 
they,  therefore,  consistently  provided  a  mode  of  remedy 
ing  its  defects. 

To  the  people  belongs  the  right  of  electing  their  chief 
magistrate  ;  it  was  never  designed  that  their  choice  should, 
in  any  case,  be  defeated,  either  by  the  intervention  of 
electoral  colleges,  or  by  the  agency  confided,  under  cer 
tain  contingencies,  to  the  House  of  Representatives.  Expe 
rience  proves,  that,  in  proportion  as  agents  to  execute  the 
will  of  the  people  are  multiplied,  there  is  danger  of  their 
wishes  being  frustrated.  Some  may  be  unfaithful;  all  are 
liable  to  err.  So  far,  therefore,  as  the  people  can,  with  con 
venience,  speak,  it  is  safer  for  them  to  express  their  own 
will. 

The  number  of  aspirants  to  the  presidency,  and  the 
diversity  of  the  interests  which  may  influence  their  claims, 
leave  little  reason  to  expect  a  choice  in  the  first  instance  ; 
and,  in  that  event,  the  election  must  devolve  on  the  House 
of  Representatives,  where,  it  is  obvious,  the  will  of  the 
people  may  not  be  always  ascertained;  or,  if  ascertained, 
may  not  be  regarded.  From  the  mode  of  voting  by  states, 
the  choice  is  to  be  made  by  twenty-four  votes  ;  and  i* 
may  often  occur,  that  one  of  those  will  be  controlled  by 
an  individual  representative.  Honors  and  offices  are  aJ 
the  disposal  of  the  successful  candidate.  Repeated  bal- 
lottings  may  make  it  apparent  that  a  single  individual 
holds  the  cast  in  his  hand.  May  he  not  be  tempted  to 
name  his  reward  ?  But  even  without  corruption — sup 
posing  the  probity  of  the  representative  to  be  proof  against 
the  powerful  motives  by  which  it  may  be  assailed — the 
will  of  the  people  is  still  constantly  liable  to  be  misrepre 
sented.  One  may  err  from  ignorance  of  the  wishes  of 
his  constituents ;  another,  from  the  conviction  that  it  is 


JACKSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  135 

his  duty  to  be  governed  by  his  own  judgment  of  the  fitness 
of  the  candidates  ;  finally,  although  all  were  inflexibly 
honest — all  accurately  informed  of  the  wishes  of  their 
constituents — yet,  under  the  present  mode  of  election,  a 
minority  may  often  elect  the  President;  aud  when  this 
happens,  it  may  reasonably  be  expected  that  efforts  will 
be  made  on  the  part  of  the  majority  to  rectify  this  injuri 
ous  operation  of  their  institutions.  But  although  no  evil 
of  this  character  should  result  from  such  a  perversion  of 
the  first  principles  of  our  system — that  the  majority  is  to 
govern — it  must  be  very  certain  that  a  President  elected 
by  a  minority  cannot  enjoy  the  confidence  necessary  to 
the  successful  discharge  of  his  duties. 

In  this,  as  in  all  other  matters  of  public  concern,  policy 
requires  that  as  few  impediments  as  possible  should  exist 
to  the  free  operation  of  the  public  will.  Let  us  then 
endeavor  to  so  amend  our  system,  that  the  office  of  chief 
magistrate  may  not  be  conferred  upon  any  citizen,  but  in 
pursuance  of  a  fair  expression  of  the  will  of  the  majority. 

I  would  therefore  recommend  such  an  amendment  of 
the  constitution  as  may  remove  all  intermediate  agency 
in  the  election  of  the  President  and  Vice- President.  The 
mode  may  be  so  regulated  as  to  preserve  to  each  state  its 
present  relative  weight  in  the  election  ;  and  a  failure  in 
the  first  attempt  may  be  provided  for,  by  confiding  the 
second  to  a  choice  between  the  two  highest  candidates. 
In  connection  with  such  an  amendment,  it  would  seem 
advisable  to  limit  the  service  of  the  chief  magistrate  to  a 
single  term  of  either  four  or  six  years.  If,  however,  it 
should  not  be  adopted,  it  is  worthy  of  consideration 
whether  a  provision  disqualifying  for  office,  the  represen 
tatives  in  Congress  on  whom  such  an  election  may  have 
devolved,  would  not  be  proper. 

While  members  of  Congress  can  be  constitutionally 
apppointed  to  offices  of  trust  and  profit,  it  will  be  the 
practice,  even  under  the  most  conscientious  adherence  to 
duty,  to  select  them  for  such  stations  as  they  are  believed 
to  be  better  qualified  to  fill  than  other  citizens  ;  but  the 
purity  of  our  government  would  doubtless  be  promoted 
by  their  exclusion  from  all  appointments  in  the  gift  of 
the  President,  in  whose  election  they  may  have  been  ofh- 


136  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

daily  concerned.  The  nature  of  the  judicial  office,  and 
the  necessity  of  securing  in  the  cabinet  and  diplomatic 
stations  of  the  highest  rank,  the  best  talents  and  political 
experience,  should,  perhaps,  except  these  from  the  ex 
clusion. 

There  are  perhaps  few  men  who  can  for  any  great 
length  of  time  enjoy  office  and  power,  without  being  more 
or  less  under  the  influence  of  feelings  unfavorable  to  the 
faithful  discharge  of  their  public  duties.  Their  integrity 
may  be  proof  against  improper  considerations  immedi 
ately  addressed  to  themselves  ;  but  they  are  apt  to  acquire 
a  habit  of  looking  with  indifference  upon  the  public  in 
terests,  and  of  tolerating  conduct  from  which  an  unprac 
tised  man  would  revolt.  Office  is  considered  as  a  species 
of  property ;  and  government  rather  as  a  means  of  pro 
moting  individual  interest,  than  as  an  instrument  created 
solely  for  the  service  of  the  people.  Corruption  in  some, 
and  in  others  a  perversion  of  correct  feelings  and  princi 
ples,  divert  government  from  its  legitimate  ends,  and 
make  it  an  engine  for  the  support  of  the  few  at  the  ex 
pense  of  the  many.  The  duties  of  all  public  officers  are, 
or  at  least  admit  of  being  made  so  plain  and  simple  that  men 
of  intelligence  may  readily  qualify  themselves  for  their 
performance  ;  and  I  cannot  but  believe  that  more  is  lost 
by  the  long  continuance  of  men  in  office  than  is  generally 
to  be  gained  by  their  experience.  I  submit  therefore  to 
your  consideration  whether  the  efficiency  of  the  govern 
ment  would  not  be  promoted,  and  official  industry  and 
integrity  better  secured  by  a  general  extension  of  the 
law  which  limits  appointments  to  four  years. 

In  a  country  where  offices  are  created  solely  for  the 
benefit  of  the  people,  no  one  man  has  any  more  intrinsic 
right  to  official  station  than  another.  Offices  were  not 
established  to  give  support  to  particular  men  at  the  pub 
lic  expense.  No  individual  wrong  is  therefore  done  by 
removal,  since  neither  appointment  to  nor  continuance  in 
office  is  matter  of  right.  The  incumbent  became  an  offi 
cer  with  a  view  to  the  public  benefits  ;  and  when  these 
require  his  removal,  they  are  not  to  be  sacrificed  to  pri 
vate  interests.  It  is  the  people,  and  they  alone,  who  have 
a  right  to  complain,  when  a  bad  officer  is  substituted  for 


JACKSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  137 

a  good  one.  He  who  is  removed  has  the  same  means  of 
obtaining  a  living  that  are  enjoyed  by  the  millions  who 
never  held  office.  The  proposed  limitation  would  destroy- 
the  idea  of  property,  now  so  generally  connected  with 
official  station ;  and  although  individual  distress  may  be 
sometimes  produced,  it  would,  by  promoting  that  rotation 
which  constitutes  a  leading  principle  in  the  republican 
creed,  give  healthful  action  to  the  system. 

No  very  considerable  change  has  occurred  during  the 
recess  of  Congress,  in  the  condition  of  either  our  agri 
culture,  commerce,  or  manufactures.  The  operation  of 
the  tariff  has  not  proved  so  injurious  to  the  two  former, 
or  as  beneficial  to  the  latter,  as  was  anticipated.  Importa 
tions  of  foreign  goods  have  not  been  sensibly  diminished  ; 
while  domestic  competition,  under  an  illusive  excitement, 
has  increased  the  production  much  beyond  the  demand 
for  home  consumption.  The  consequences  have  been, 
low  prices,  temporary  embarrassment,  and  partial  loss. 
That  such  of  our  manufacturing  establishments  as  are 
based  upon  capital,  and  are  prudently  managed,  will  sur 
vive  the  shock,  and  be  ultimately  profitable,  there  is  no 
good  reason  to  doubt. 

To  regulate  its  conduct,  so  as  to  promote  equally  the 
prosperity  of  these  three  cardinal  interests,  is  one  of  the 
most  difficult  tasks  of  government;  and  it  may  be  regret 
ted  that  the  complicated  restrictions  which  now  embarrass 
the  intercourse  of  nations,  could  not  by  common  consent 
be  abolished;  and  commerce  allowed  to  flow  in  those 
channels  to  which  individual  enterprise,  always  its  surest 
guide,  might  direct  it.  But  we  must  ever  expect  selfish 
legislation  in  other  nations  ;  and  are  therefore  compelled 
to  adapt  our  own  to  their  regulations,  in  the  manner  best 
calculated  to  avoid  serious  injury,  and  to  harmonize  the 
conflicting  interests  of  our  agriculture,  our  commerce,  and 
our  manufactures.  Under  these  impressions,  I  invite 
your  attention  to  the  existing  tariff,  believing  that  some 
of  its  provisions  require  modification. 

The  general  rule  to  be  applied  in  graduating  the  duties 

upon  the  articles  of  foreign  growth  or  manufacture,  is 

that  which  will  place  our  own  in  fair  competition  with 

those  of  other  countries  :  and  the  inducements  to  advance 

12* 


138  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

even  a  step  beyond  this  point,  are  controlling  in  regard 
to  those  articles  which  are  of  primary  necessity  in  time 
of  war.  When  we  reflect  upon  the  difficulty  and  delicacy 
of  this  operation,  it  is  important  that  it  should  never  be 
attempted  but  with  the  utmost  caution.  Frequent  legis 
lation  in  regard  to  any  branch  of  industry,  affecting  its 
value,  and  by  which  its  capital  may  be  transferred  to  new 
channels,  must  always  be  productive  of  hazardous  specu 
lation  and  loss. 

In  deliberating,  therefore,  on  these  interesting  subjects, 
local  feelings  and  prejudices  should  be  merged  in  the 
patriotic  determination  to  promote  the  great  interests  of 
the  whole.  All  the  attempts  to  connect  them  with  the 
party  conflicts  of  the  day  are  necessarily  injurious,  and 
should  be  discountenanced.  Our  action  upon  them 
should  be  under  the  control  of  higher  and  purer  motives. 
Legislation,  subjected  to  such  influence,  can  never  be 
just ;  and  will  not  long  retain  the  sanction  of  the  people, 
whose  active  patriotism  is  not  bounded  by  sectional  lim 
its,  nor  insensible  to  that  spirit  of  concession  and  for 
bearance  which  gave  life  to  our  political  compact,  and 
still  sustains  it.  Discarding  all  calculations  of  political 
ascendency,  the  north,  the  south,  the  east,  and  the  west, 
should  unite  in  diminishing  any  burden,  of  which  either 
may  justly  complain. 

The  agricultural  interest  of  our  country  is  so  essen 
tially  connected  with  every  other,  and  so  superior  in  im 
portance  to  them  all,  that  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  invite 
to  it  your  particular  attention.  It  is  principally  as  ma 
nufactures  and  commerce  tend  to  increase  the  value  of 
agricultural  productions,  and  to  extend  their  application 
to  the  wants  and  comforts  of  society,  that  they  deserve 
the  fostering  care  of  government. 

Looking  forward  to  the  period,  not  far  distant,  when  a 
sinking  fund  will  no  longer  be  required,  the  duties  on 
those  articles  of  importation  which  cannot  come  in  com 
petition  with  our  own  productions,  are  the  first  that 
should  engage  the  attention  of  Congress  in  the  modifica 
tion  of  the  tariff.  Of  these,  tea  and  coffee  are  the  most 
prominent;  they  enter  largely  into  the  consumption  of 
the  country,  and  have  become  articles  of  necessity  to  all 


JACKSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  139 

classes.  A  reduction,  therefore,  of  the  existing  duties, 
will  be  felt  as  a  common  benefit;  but,  like  all  other  legis 
lation  connected  with  commerce,  to  be  efficacious,  and 
not  injurious,  it  should  be  gradual  and  certain. 

The  public  prosperity  is  evinced  in  the  increased  reve 
nue  arising  from  the  sales  of  public  lands  ;  and  in  the 
steady  maintenance  of  that  produced  by  imposts  and  ton 
nage,  notwithstanding  the  additional  duties  imposed  by 
the  act  of  19th  May,  1828,  and  the  unusual  importations 
in  the  early  part  of  that  year. 

The  balance  in  the  treasury  on  the  1st  January,  1829, 
was  85,972,435  81.  The  receipts  of  the  current  year 
are  estimated  at  $24,602,230 ;  and  the  expenditures  for 
the  same  time  at  $26,164,595.  Leaving  a  balance  in  the 
treasury,  on  the  1st  of  January  next,  of  $4,410,070  81. 

There  will  have  been  paid  on  account  of  the  public 
debt  during  the  present  year,  the  sum  of  $12,405,005  80 ; 
reducing  the  whole  debt  of  the  government  on  the  first 
of  January  next,  to  $48,565,406  50,  including  seven 
millions  of  five  per  cent,  stock  subscribed  to  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States.  The  payment  on  account  of  the 
public  debt,  made  on  the  first  of  July  last,  was  $8,715,462 
87  cents.  It  was  apprehended  that  the  sudden  withdrawal 
of  so  large  a  sum  from  the  banks  in  which  it  was  deposit 
ed,  at  a  time  of  unusual  pressure  in  the  money  market, 
might  cause  much  injury  to  the  interests  dependent  on 
bank  accommodations.  But  this  evil  was  wholly  averted 
by  an  early  anticipation  of  it  at  the  treasury,  aided  by  the 
judicious  arrangements  of  the  officers  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States. 

The  state  of  the  finances  exhibits  the  resources  of  the 
nation  in  an  aspect  highly  flattering  to  its  industry,  and 
auspicious  of  the  ability  of  the  government,  in  a  very 
short  time  to  extinguish  the  public  debt.  When  this 
shall  be  done,  our  population  will  be  relieved  from  a  con 
siderable  portion  of  its  present  burdens;  and  will  find 
not  only  new  motives  to  patriotic  affection,  but  additional 
means  for  the  display  of  individual  enterprise.  The  fis 
cal  power  of  the  states  will  also  be  increased  ;  and  may 
be  more  extensively  exerted  in  favor  of  education  ami 
other  public  objects;  while  ample  means  will  remain 


140  THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN". 

in  the  federal  government  to  promote  the  general  weal,  in 
all  the  modes  permitted  to  its  authority. 

After  the  extinction  of  the  public  debt,  it  is  not  proba 
ble  that  any  adjustment  of  the  tariff,  upon  principles 
satisfactory  to  the  people  of  the  Union,  will,  until  a  re 
mote  period,  if  ever,  leave  the  government  without  a 
considerable  surplus  in  the  treasury,  beyond  what  may 
be  required  for  its  current  service.  As,  then,  the  period 
approaches  when  the  application  of  the  revenue  to  pay 
ment  of  the  debt  will  cease,  the  disposition  of  the  sur 
plus  will  present  a  subject  for  the  serious  deliberation  of 
Congress  ;  and  it  may  be  fortunate  for  the  country  that 
it  is  yet  to  be  decided.  Considered  in  connection  with 
the  difficulties  which  have  heretofore  attended  appropria 
tions  for  purposes  of  internal  improvement,  and  with  those 
which  this  experience  tells  us  will  certainly  arise,  when 
ever  power  over  such  subjects  may  be  exercised  by  the 
general  government ;  it  is  hoped  that  it  may  lead  to  the 
adoption  of  some  plan  which  will  reconcile  the  diversi 
fied  interests  of  the  states,  and  strengthen  the  bonds  which 
unite  them.  Every  member  of  the  Union,  in  peace  and 
in  war,  will  be  beneiitted  by  the  improvement  of  inland 
navigation,  and  the  construction  of  highways  in  the  seve 
ral  states.  Let  us  then  endeavor  to  attain  this  benefit  in 
a  mode  that  will  be  satisfactory  to  all.  That  hitherto 
adopted  has,  by  many  of  our  fellow-citizens,  been  depre 
cated  as  an  infraction  of  the  constitution  ;  while  by  others 
it  has  been  viewed  as  inexpedient.  All  feel  that  it  has  been 
employed  at  the  expense  of  harmony  in  the  legislative 
councils. 

To  avoid  these  evils,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  most 
safe,  just,  and  federal  disposition  which  could  be  made 
of  this  surplus  revenue,  would  be  its  apportionment 
among  the  several  states,  according  to  their  ratio  of  re 
presentation  ;  and  should  this  measure  not  be  found  war 
ranted  by  the  constitution,  that  it  would  be  expedient  to 
propose  to  the  states  an  amendment  authorizing  it.  I 
regard  an  appeal  to  the  source  of  power,  in  all  cases  of 
real  doubt,  and  where  its  exercise  is  deemed  advisable  to 
the  general  welfare,  as  among  the  most  sacred  of  all  our 
obligations.  Upon  this  country,  more  than  any  other, 


JACKSON'S  FIRST  ANXUAL  MESSAGE.  141 

has,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  been  cast  the  special 
guardianship  of  the  great  principle  of  adherence  to  writ 
ten  constitutions.  If  it  fail  here,  all  hope  in  regard  to  it 
will  be  extinguished.  That  this  was  intended  to  be  a 
government  of  limited  and  specific,  and  not  general  pow 
ers,  must  be  admitted  by  all ;  and  it  is  our  duty  to  pre 
serve  for  it  the  character  intended  by  its  framers.  If 
experience  points  out  the  necessity  for  an  enlargement 
of  these  powers,  let  us  apply  for  it  to  those  for  whose 
benefit  it  is  to  be  exercised  ;  and  not  undermine  the 
whole  system  by  a  resort  to  overstrained  constructions. 
The  scheme  has  worked  well.  It  has  exceeded  the  hopes 
of  those  who  devised  it,  and  become  an  object  of  admira 
tion  to  the  world.  We  are  responsible  to  our  country 
and  to  the  glorious  cause  of  self-government,  for  the 
preservation  of  so  great  a  good.  The  great  mass  of  legis 
lation  relating  to  our  internal  affairs,  was  intended  to  be 
left  where  the  federal  convention  found  it — in  the  state 
governments.  Nothing  is  clearer,  in  my  view,  than  that 
we  are  chiefly  indebted  for  the  success  of  the  constitution 
under  which  we  are  now  acting,  to  the  watchful  and  aux 
iliary  operation  of  the  state  authorities.  •  This  is  not  the 
reflection  of  a  day,  but  belongs  to  the  most  deeply  rooted 
convictions  of  my  mind.  I  cannot,  therefore,  too  strong 
ly  or  too  earnestly,  for  my  own  sense  of  its  importance, 
warn  you  against  all  encroachment  upon  the  legitimate 
sphere  of  state  sovereignty.  Sustained  by  its  healthful 
and  invigorating  influence,  the  federal  system  can  never 
fall. 

In  the  collection  of  the  revenue,  the  long  credits  au 
thorized  on  goods  imported  from  beyond  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  are  the  chief  cause  of  the  losses  at  present 
sustained.  If  these  were  shortened  to  six,  nine,  and 
twelve  months,  and  warehouses  provided  by  government, 
sufficient  to  receive  the  goods  offered  in  deposite  for  se 
curity  and  for  debenture  ;  and  if  the  right  of  the  United 
States  to  a  priority  of  payment  out  of  the  estates  of  its 
insolvent  debtors  was  more  effectually  secured,  this  evil 
would  in  a  great  measure  be  obviated.  An  authority  to 
construct  such  houses  is,  therefore,  with  the  proposed 
alteration  of  the  credits,  recommended  to  your  attention. 


142  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  the  laws  for  the  collection 
and  security  of  the  revenue  arising  from  imposts,  were 
chiefly  framed  when  the  rates  of  duties  on  imported 
goods  presented  much  less  temptation  for  illicit  trade 
than  at  present  exists.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
these  laws  are,  in  some  respects,  quite  insufficient  for  the 
proper  security  of  the  revenue,  and  the  protection  of  the 
interests  of  those  who  are  disposed  to  observe  them.  The 
injurious  and  demoralizing  tendency  of  a  successful  sys 
tem  of  smuggling  is  so  obvious  as  not  to  require  com 
ment,  and  cannot  be  too  carefully  guarded  against.  I 
therefore  suggest  to  Congress  the  propriety  of  adopting 
efficient  measures  to  prevent  this  evil,  avoiding,  however, 
as  much  as  possible,  every  unnecessary  infringement  of 
individual  liberty/-  and  embarrassment  of  fair  and  lawful 
business. 

On  an  examination  of  the  records  of  the  treasury,  I 
have  been  forcibly  struck  with  the  large  amount  of  pub 
lic  money  which  appears  to  be  outstanding.  Of  this  sum 
thus  due  from  individuals  to  the  government,  a  conside 
rable  portion  is  undoubtedly  desperate  ;  and  in  many  in 
stances,  has  probably  been  rendered  so  by  remissness  in 
the  agents  chaiged  with  its  collection.  By  proper  exer 
tions,  a  great  part,  however,  may  yet  be  recovered  ;  and 
whatever  may  be  the  portions  respectively  belonging  to 
these  two  classes,  it  behoves  the  government  to  ascertain 
the  real  state  of  the  fact.  This  can  be  done  only  by  the 
prompt  adoption  of  judicious  measures  for  the  collection 
of  such  as  may  be  made  available.  It  is  believed  that  a 
very  large  amount  has  been  lost  through  the  inadequacy 
of  the  means  provided  for  the  collection  of  debts  due  to 
the  public;  and  that  this  inadequacy  lies  chiefly  in  .the 
want  of  legal  skill,  habitually  and  constantly  employed 
in  the  direction  of  the  agents  engaged  in  the  service.  It 
must,  I  think,  be  admitted,  that  the  supervisory  power 
over  suits  brought  by  the  public,  which  is  now  vested  in 
an  accounting  officer  of  the  treasury,  not  selected  with  a 
view  to  his  legal  knowledge,  and  encumbered  as  he  is 
with  numerous  other  duties,  operates  unfavorably  to  the 
public  interest. 

It  is  important  that  this  branch  of  the  public  service 


JACKSON  a  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  143 

should  be  subject  to  the  supervision  of  such  professional 
skill  as  will  give  it  efficacy.  The  expense  attendant  upon 
such  a  modification  of  the  executive  department,  would 
be  justified  by  the  soundest  principles  of  economy.  I 
would  recommend,  therefore,  that  the  duties  now  assigned 
to  the  agent  of  the  treasury,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the 
superintendence  and  management  of  legal  proceedings 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  to  be  transferred  to  the 
attorney-general  ;  and  that  this  officer  be  placed  on  the 
same  footing  in  all  respects,  as  the  heads  of  the  other 
departments — receiving  like  compensation,  and  having 
such  subordinate  officers  provided  for  his  department,  as 
may  be  requisite  for  the  discharge  of  these  additional 
duties.  The  professional  skill  of  the  attorney-general, 
employed  in  directing  the  conduct  of  marshals  and  dis 
trict  attorneys,  would  hasten  the  collection  of  debts  now 
in  suit,  and  hereafter  save  much  to  the  government.  It 
might  be  further  extended  to  the  superintendence  of  all 
criminal  proceedings  for  offences  against  the  United  States. 
In  making  this  transfer,  great  care  should  be  taken,  how 
ever,  that  the  power  necessary  to  the  treasury  depart 
ment  be  not  impaired  ;  one  of  its  greatest  securities  con 
sisting  in  a  control  over  all  accounts  until  they  are  audited 
or  reported  for  suit. 

In  connexion  with  the  foregoing  views,  I  would  sug 
gest,  also,  an  inquiry,  whether  the  provisions  of  the  act 
of  Congress,  authorizing  the  discharge  of  the  persons  of 
debtors  to  the  government  from  imprisonment,  may  not, 
consistently  with  the  public  interest,  be  extended  to  the 
release  of  the  debt,  where  the  conduct  of  the  debtor  is 
wholly  exempt  from  the  imputation  of  fraud.  Some  more 
liberal  policy  than  that  which  now  prevails  in  reference 
to  this  unfortunate  class  of  citizens  is  certainly  due  to 
them,  and  would  prove  beneficial  to  the  country.  The 
continuance  of  the  liability  after  the  means  to  discharge 
it  had  been  exhausted,  can  only  serve  to  dispirit  the 
debtor;  or  where  his  resources  are  but  partial,  the  want 
of  power  in  the  government  to  compromise  and  release 
the  demand,  instigates  to  fraud,  as  the  only  resource  for 
securing  a  support  to  his  family.  He  thus  sinks  into  a 
state  of  apathy,  or  becomes  a  useless  drone  in  society,  01 


144  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

a  vicious  member  of  it,  if  not  a  feeling  witness  of  the  ri 
gor  and  inhumanity  of  his  country.  All  experience  proves 
that  an  oppressive  debt  is  the  bane  of  enterprise ;  and  it 
should  be  the  care  of  a  republic  not  to  exert  a  grinding 
power  over  misfortune  and  poverty. 

Since  the  last  session  of  Congress,  numerous  frauds 
on  the  treasury  have  been  discovered,  which  I  thought  it 
my  duty  to  bring  under  the  cognizance  of  the  United 
States  Court,  for  this  district,  by  a  criminal  prosecution. 
It  was  rny  opinion,  and  that  of  able  counsel  who  were 
consulted,  that  the  cases  came  within  the  penalties  of  the 
act  of  the  17th  Congress,  approved  3d  March,  1823,  pro 
viding  for  the  punishment  of  frauds  committed  on  the 
government  of  the  United  States.  Either  from  some  de 
fect  in  the  law  or  in  its  administration,  every  effort  to  bring 
the  accused  to  trial  under  its  provisions  proved  ineffectu 
al,  and  the  government  was  driven  to  the  necessity  of 
resorting  to  the  vague  and  inadequate  provisions  of  the 
common  law.  It  is  therefore  my  duty  to  call  your  atten 
tion  to  the  laws  which  have  been  passed  for  the  protection 
of  the  treasury.  If,  indeed,  there  is  no  provision  by 
which  those  who  may  be  unworthily  intrusted  with  its 
guardianship,  can  be  punished  for  the  most  flagrant  vio 
lation  of  duty,  extending  even  to  the  most  fraudulent 
appropriation  of  the  public  funds  to  their  own  use,  it  is 
lime  to  remedy  so  dangerous  an  omission.  Or,  if  the 
law  has  been  perverted  from  its  original  purposes,  and 
criminals  deserving  to  be  punished  under  its  provisions, 
have  been  rescued  by  legal  subtil  ties,  it  ought  to  be  made 
so  plain,  by  amendatory  provisions,  as  to  baffle  the  arts  of 
perversion,  and  accomplish  the  ends  of  its  original  enact 
ment. 

In  one  of  the  most  flagrant  cases,  the  court  decided 
that  the  prosecution  was  barred  by  the  statute  which  limits 
prosecutions  for  fraud  to  two  years.  In  this  case  all  the 
evidences  of  the  fraud,  and  indeed  all  knowledge  that  a 
fraud  had  been  committed,  were  in  the  possession  of  the 
party  accused,  until  after  the  two  years  had  elapsed. 
Surely  the  statute  ought  not  to  run  in  favor  of  any  man 
while  he  retains  all  the  evidences  of  his  crime  in  his  own 
possession ;  add  least  of  all,  in  favor  of  a  public  officer 


JACKSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  145 

who  continues  to  defraud  the  treasury,  and  conceal  the 
transaction  for  the  brief  term  of  two  years.  I  would 
therefore  recommend  such  an  alteration  of  the  law  as  will 
give  the  injured  party  and  the  government  two  years  after 
the  disclosure  of  the  fraud,  or  after  the  accused  is  out  of 
office,  to  commence  their  prosecution. 

In  connection  with  this  subject,  I  invite  the  attention 
of  Congress  to  a  general  and  minute  inquiry  into  the 
condition  of  the  government;  with  a  view  to  ascertain 
what  offices  can  he  dispensed  with,  what  expenses  re 
trenched,  and  what  improvements  may  be  made  in  the 
organization  of  its  various  parts  to  secure  the  proper  re 
sponsibility  of  public  agents,  and  promote  efficiency  and 
justice  in  all  its  operations. 

The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War  will  make  you 
acquainted  with  the  condition  of  our  army,  fortifications, 
arsenals,  and  Indian  affairs.  The  proper  discipline  of 
the  army,  the  training  and  equipment  of  the  militia,  the 
education  bestowed  at  West  Point,  and  the  accumulation 
of  the  means  of  defence,  applicable  to  the  naval  force, 
will  tend  to  prolong  the  peace  we  now  enjoy,  and  which 
every  good  citizen,  more  especially  those  who  have  felt 
the  miseries  of  even  a  successful  warfare,  most  ardently 
desire  to  perpetuate. 

The  returns  from  the  subordinate  branches  of  this 
service  exhibit  a  regularity  and  order  highly  creditable 
to  its  character:  both  officers  and  soldiers  seem  imbued 
with  a  proper  sense  of  duty,  and  conform  to  the  restraints 
of  exact  discipline  with  that  cheerfulness  which  becomes 
the  profession  of  arms.  There  is  need,  however,  of  fur 
ther  legislation  to  obviate  the  inconveniences  specified 
in  the  report  under  consideration ;  to  some  of  which  it 
is  proper  that  I  should  call  your  particular  attention. 

The  act  of  Congress  of  the  2d  March,  1821,  to  reduce 
and  fix  the  military  establishment,  remaining  unexecuted 
as  it  regards  the  command  of  one  of  the  regiments  of 
artillery,  cannot  now  be  deemed  a  guide  to  the  executive 
in  making  the  proper  appointment.  An  explanatory  act, 
designating  the  class  of  officers  out  of  which  this  grade 
is  to  be  filled — whether  from  the  military  list,  as  existing 
prior  to  the  act  of  1821,  or  from  it,  as  it  has  been  fixed 
13 


146  TilE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

by  that  act — would  remove  this  difficulty.  It.  is  also  im 
portant  that  the  laws  regulating  the  pay  and  emoluments 
of  the  officers  generally,  should  be  more  specific  than 
they  now  are.  Those,  for  example,  in  relation  to  the 
paymaster  and  surgeon-general,  assign  to  them  an  annual 
salary  of  $2,500 ;  but  are  silent  as  to  allowances  which, 
in  certain  exigencies  of  the  service,  may  be  deemed  in 
dispensable  to  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  This  cir 
cumstance  has  been  the  authority  for  extending  to  them 
various  allowances  at  different  times  under  foimer  admi 
nistrations  ;  but  no  uniform  rule  has  been  observed  on 
the  subject.  Similar  inconveniences  exist  in  other  cases, 
in  which  the  construction  put  upon' the  laws  by  the  pub 
lic  accountants  may  operate  unequally,  produce  confu 
sion,  and  expose  officers  to  the  odium  of  claiming  what 
is  not  their  due. 

I  recommend  to  your  fostering  care,  as  one  of  our 
safest  means  of  national  defence,  the  Military  Academy. 
This  institution  has  already  exercised  the  happiest  influ 
ence  upon  the  moral  ami  intellectual  character  of  our 
army  ;  and  such  of  the  graduates  as,  from  various  causes, 
may  not  pursue  the  profession  of  arms,  will  be  scarcely 
less  useful  as  citizens.  Their  knowledge  of  the  mili 
tary  art  will  be  advantageously  employed  in  the  militia 
service  ;  and  in  a  measure  secure  to  that  class  of  troops 
the  advantages  which  in  this  respect  belong  to  standing 
armies. 

I  would  also  suggest  a  review  of  the  pension  law,  foi 
the  purpose  of  extending  its  benefits  to  every  revolution 
ary  soldier  who  aided  in  establishing  our  liberties,  and 
who  is  unable  to  maintain  himself  in  comfort.  Those 
relics  of  the  war  of  independence  have  strong  claims  upon 
their  country*s  gratitude  and  bounty.  The  law  is  de 
fective  in  not  embracing  within  its  provisions  all  those 
who  were  during  the  last  war  disabled  from  supporting 
themselves  by  manual  labor.  Such  an  amendment  would 
add  but  little  to  the  amount  of  pensions,  and  is  called  for 
by  the  sympathies  of  the  people,  as  well  as  by  considera 
tions  of  sound  policy.  It  will  be  perceived  that  a  large 
addition  to  the  list  of  pensioners  has  been  occasioned  by 
an  order  of  the  late  administration,  departing  materially 


JACKSOK  S    FIHST    ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  147 

from  the  rules  which  had  previously  prevailed.  Consider 
ing  it  an  act  of  legislation,  I  suspended  its  operation  as 
soon  as  I  was  informed  that  it  had  commenced.  Before 
this  period,  however,  applications  under  the  new  regula 
tion  had  been  pieferred,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty -four:  of  which,  on  the  27th  March,  the  dale 
of  its  revocation,  eighty-seven  weie  admitted.  For  the 
amount  there  was  neither  estimate  nor  appropriation ; 
and  besides  this  deficiency,  the  regular  allowances,  ac- 
coiding  to  the  rules  whicli  have  heretofore  governed  the 
department,  exceed  the  estimate  of  its  late  secretary,  by 
about  fifty  thousand  dollars,  for  which  an  appropriation  is 
asked. 

Your  particular  attention  is  requested  to  that  part  of 
the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War  which  relates  to  the 
money  held  in  trust  for  the  Seneca  tribe  of  Indians.  It 
will  be  perceived  that,  without  legislative  aid,  the  execu 
tive  cannot  obviate  the  embarrassments  occasioned  by 
the  diminution  of  the  dividends  on  that  fund,  which  ori 
ginally  amounted  to  $100,000,  and  has  recently  been 
vested  in  the  United  States  three  per  cent,  stock. 

The  condition  and  ulterior  destiny  of  the  Indian  tribes 
within  the  limits  of  some  of  our  states,  have  become  ob 
jects  of  much  interest  and  importance.  It  has  long  been 
the  policy  of  government  to  introduce  among  them  the 
arts  of  civilization,  in  the  hope  of  gradually  reclaiming 
them  from  a  wandering  life.  This  poli.-y  has,  however, 
been  coupled  with  another  wholly  incompatible  with  its 
success.  Professing  a  desire  to  civilize  and  settle  them, 
we  have  at  the  same  lime  lost  no  opportunity  to  purchase 
their  lands,  and  thrust  them  further  into  the  wilderness. 
By  this  means  they  have  not  only  been  kept  in  a  wander 
ing  state,  but  been  led  to  look  upon  us  as  unjust  and  in 
different  to  their  fate.  Thus,  though  lavish  in  expendi 
tures  upon  the  subject,  government  has  constantly  defeat 
ed  its  own  policy ;  and  the  Indians,  in  general,  rece 
ding  further  and  further  to  the  west,  have  retained  their 
savage  habits.  A  portion,  however,  of  the  southern 
tribes,  having  mingled  much  with  the  whites,  and  made 
some  progress  in  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  have  lately  at 
tempted  to  erect  an  independent  government  within  the 


148  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

limits  of  Georgia  and  Alabama.  These  states,  claiming 
to  be  the  only  sovereigns  within  their  territories,  extend 
ed  their  laws  over  the  Indians  ;  which  induced  the  latter 
to  call  upon  the  United  States  for  protection. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  question  presented  was, 
whether  the  general  government  had  a  right  to  sustain 
those  people  in  their  pretensions.  The  constitution  de 
clares,  that  *'  no  new  state  shall  be  formed  or  erected 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  state,"  without  t^e 
consent  of  its  legislature.  If  the  general  government  is 
not  permitted  to  tolerate  the  erection  of  a  confederate 
state  within  the  territory  of  one  of  the  members  of  this 
Union,  against  her  consent,  much  less  could  it  allow  a 
foreign  and  independent  government  to  establish  itself 
there.  Georgia  became  a  member  of  the  confederacy 
which  eventuated  in  our  federal  union,  as  a  sovereign 
state,  always  asserting  her  claim  to  certain  limits  ;  which 
having  been  originally  defined  in  her  colonial  charter,  and 
subsequently  recognized  in  the  treaty  of  peace,  she  has 
ever  since  continued  to  enjoy,  except  as  they  have  been 
circumscribed  by  her  own  voluntary  transfer  of  a  portion 
of  her  territory  to  the  United  States,  in  the  articles  of 
cession  of  1802.  Alabama  was  admitted  into  the  Union 
on  the  same  footing  with  the  original  states,  with  boun 
daries  which  were  prescribed  by  Congress.  There  is  no 
constitutional,  conventional,  or  legal  provision,  which 
allows  them  less  power  over  the  Indians  within  their  bor 
ders,  than  is  possessed  by  Maine  or  New  York.  Would 
the  people  of  Maine  permit  the  Penobscot  tribe  to  erect  an 
independent  government  within  their  state?  and  unless 
they  did,  would  it  not  be  the  duty  of  the  general  govern 
ment  to  support  them  in  resisting  such  a  measure? 
Would  the  people  of  New  York  permit  each  remnant  of 
the  Six  Nations  within  her  borders,  to  declare  itself  an 
independent  people  under  the  protection  of  the  United 
States?  Could  the  Indians  establish  a  separate  republic 
in  each  of  their  reservations  in  Ohio  ?  and  if  they  were 
so  disposed,  would  it  be  the  duty  of  this  government  to 
protect  them  in  the  attempt?  If  the  principle  involved 
in  the  obvious  answer  to  these  questions  be  abandoned. 
it  will  follow  that  the  objects  of  this  government  are  re- 


us 

versed ;  and  that  it  has  become  a  part  of  its  duty  to  aid 
in  destroying  the  stales  which  it  was  established  to  pro 
tect. 

Actuated  by  this  view  of  the  subject,  I  informed  the 
Indians  inhabiting  parts  of  Georgia  and  Alabama,  that 
their  attempt  to  establish  an  independent  government 
would  not  be  countenanced  by  the  executive  of  the  Uni 
ted  States;  and  advised  them  to  emigrate  beyond  the 
Mississippi,  or  submit  to  the  laws  of  those  states. 

Our  conduct  towards  these  people  is  deeply  interesting 
to  our  national  character.  Their  present  condition,  con 
trasted  with  what  they  once  were,  makes  a  most  powerful 
appeal  to  our  sympathies.  Our  ancestors  found  them  the 
uncontrolled  possessors  of  these  vast  regions.  By  per 
suasion  and  force  they  have  been  made  to  retire  from 
river  to  river,  and  from  mountain  to  mountain,  until  some 
of  the  tribes  have  become  extinct,  and  others  have  left 
but  remnants,  to  preserve,  for  a  while,  their  once  terrible 
names.  Surrounded  by  the  whites,  with  their  arts  of  ci 
vilization,  which,  by  destroying  the  resources  of  the  sa 
vage,  doom  him  to  weakness  and  decay  ;  the  fate  of  the 
Mohegan,  the  Narragansett,  and  the  Delaware,  is  fast 
overtaking  the  Choctaw,  the  Cherokee,  and  the  Creek. 
That  this  fate  surely  awaits  them  if  they  remain  within 
the  limits  of  the  states,  does  not  admit  of  a  doubt.  Hu 
manity  and  national  honor  demand  that  every  effort 
should  be  made  to  avert  so  great  a  calamity.  It  is  too 
late  to  inquire  whether  it  was  just  in  the  United  States  to 
include  them  and  their  territory  within  the  bounds  of  new 
states  whose  limits  they  could  control.  That  step  can 
not  be  retraced.  A  state  cannot  be  dismembered  by 
Congress,  or  restricted  in  the  exercise  of  her  constitu 
tional  power.  But  the  people  of  those  states,  and  of 
every  state,  actuated  by  fe.  lings  of  justice  and  a  regard 
for  our  national  honor,  submit  to  you  the  interesting 
question,  whether  something  cannot  be  done,  consistently 
with  the  rights  of  the  states,  to  preserve  this  much  inju 
red  race. 

As  a  means  of  effecting  this  end,  I  suggest  for  your 
consideration  the  propriety  of  setting  apart  an  ample  dis 
trict  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  without  the  limits  of 
13* 


150  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

any  state  or  territory  now  formed,  to  be  guaranteed  tu  the 
Indian  tribes,  as  long  as  they  shall  occupy  it ;  each  iribe 
having  a  distinct  control  over  the  portion  designated  foi 
its  use.  There  they  may  be  secured  in  the  enjoyment  01 
governments  of  their  own  choice,  subject  to  no  oiher  con 
trol  from  the  United  States  than  such  as  may  be  neces 
sary  to  preserve  peace  on  the  frontier,  and  between  tne 
several  tribes.  There  the  benevolent  may  endeavor  to 
teach  them  the  arts  of  civilization;  and,  by  promoting 
union  and  harmony  among  them,  to  raise  up  an  interest 
ing  commonwealth,  destined  to  perpetuate  the  race,  and 
to  attest  the  humanity  and  justice  of  this  government. 

This  emigration  should  be  voluntary;  for  it  would  be 
as  cruel  as  unjust  to  compel  the  aborigines  to  abandon  the 
graves  of  their  fathers,  and  seek  a  home  in  a  distant  land. 
But  they  should  be  distinctly  informed  that,  if  they  re 
main  within  the  limits  of  the  states,  they  must  be  subject 
to  their  laws.  In  return  for  their  obedience  as  individu 
als,  they  will,  without  doubt,  be  protected  in  the  enjoy 
ment  of  those  possessions  which  they  have  improved  by 
their  industry.  But  it  seems  to  me  visionary  to  suppose, 
that  in  this  state  of  things,  claims  can  be  allowed  on 
tracts  of  country  on  which  they  have  neither  dwelt  nor 
made  improvements,  merely  because  they  have  seen  them 
from  the  mountain,  or  passed  them  in  the  chase.  Sub 
mitting  to  the  laws  of  the  states,  and  receiving,  like 
other  citizens,  protection  in  their  persons,  and  property, 
they  will  ere  long  become  merged  in  the  mass  of  our 
population. 

The  accompanying  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
will  make  you  acquainted  with  the  condition  and  useful 
employment  of  that  branch  of  our  service  during  the 
present  year.  Constituting,  as  it  does,  the  best  stand 
ing  security  of  this  country  against  foreign  aggression,  it 
claims  the  especial  attention  of  government.  In  this 
spirit,  the  measures  which,  since  the  termination  of  the 
last  war,  have  been  in  operation  for  its  gradual  enlarge 
ment  were  adopted  ;  and  it  should  continue  to  be  che 
rished  as  the  offspring  of  our  national  experience.  It 
will  be  seen,  however,  that  notwithstanding  the  great  so 
licitude  which  has  been  manifested  for  the  perfect  orga- 


151 

nization  of  this  arm,  and  the  liberality  of  the  appropria 
tions  which  that  solicitude  has  suggested,  this  object  has 
in  many  important  respects,  not  been  secured. 

In  time  of  peace  we  have  need  of  no  more  ships  of 
war  than  are  requisite  to  the  protection  of  our  commerce 
Those  not  wanted  for  this  object,  must  by  in  the  harbors, 
where,  without  proper  covering,  they  rapidly  decay  ;  and 
even  under  the  best  precautions  for  their  preservation, 
must  soon  become  useless.  Such  is  already  the  case  with 
many  of  our  finest  vessels  ;  which,  though  unfinished,  will 
now  require  immense  sums  of  money  to  be  restored  to 
the  condition  in  which  they  were  when  committed  to  their 
proper  element.  On  this  subject  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  our  best  policy  would  be  to  discontinue  the  building 
of  the  first  and  second  class,  and  look  rather  to  the  pos 
session  of  ample  materials,  prepared  for  the  emergencies 
of  war,  than  to  the  number  of  vessels  which  we  can  float 
in  a  season  of  peace,  as  the  index  of  our  naval  power. 
Judicious  deposites  in  the  navy-yards,  of  timber  and  other 
materials,  fashioned  under  the  hands  of  skilful  workmen, 
and  fitted  for  prompt  application  to  their  various  purposes, 
would  enable  us,  at  all  times,  to  construct  vessels  as  fast 
as  they  can  be  manned ;  and  save  the  heavy  expense  of 
repairs,  except  to  such  vessels  as  must  be  employed  in 
guarding  our  commerce.  The  proper  points  for  the  esta 
blishments  of  these  yards  are  indicated  with  so  much 
force  in  the  report  of  the  Navy  Board,  that,  in  recom 
mending  it  to  your  attention,  I  deem  it  unnecessary  to  do 
more  than  express  my  hearty  concurrence  in  their  views. 
The  yard  in  this  district,  being  already  furnished  with 
most  of  the  machinery  necessary  for  ship  building,  will 
be  competent  to  the  supply  of  the  two  selected  by  the 
board  as  the  best  for  the  concentration  of  materials  ;  and 
from  the  facility  and  certainty  of  communication  between 
them,  it  will  be  useless  to  incur,  at  those  depots,  the  ex 
pense  of  similar  machinery,  especially  that  used  in  pre 
paring  the  usual  metallic  and  wooden  furniture  of  vessels. 

Another  improvement  would  be  effected  by  dispensing 
altogether  with  the  Navy  Board,  as  now  constituted,  and 
substituting  in  its  stead,  bureaus  similar  to  those  already 
existing  in  the  War  department.  Each  member  of  the 


15*2  THE    TRUE    RKPUBLICAN. 

board,  transferred  to  the  head  of  a  separate  bureau  charged 
with  specific  duties,  would  feel,  in  its  highest  degree,  that 
wholesome  responsibility  which  cannot  be  divided  without 
a  far  more  proportionate  diminution  of  its  force.  Their 
valuable  services  would  become  still  more  so  when  sepa 
rately  appropriated  to  distinct  portions  of  the  great  inte 
rests  of  the  navy  ;  to  the  prosperity  of  which  each  would 
be  impelled  to  devote  himself  by  the  strongest  motives. 
Uiuler  such  an  arrangement,  every  branch  of  this  impor 
tant  service  would  assume  a  more  simple  and  precise 
character:  its  efficiency  would  be  increased,  and  scrupu 
lous  economy  in  the  expenditure  of  public  money  pro 
moted. 

I  would  also  recommend  that  the  marine  corps  be 
merged  in  the  artillery,  or  infantry,  as  the  best  mode  of 
curing  the  many  defects  in  its  organization.  But  little 
exceeding  in  number  any  of  the  regiments  of  infantry, 
that  corps  h;is,  besides  its  lieutenant-colonel  commandant, 
five  brevet  lieutenant-colonels,  who  receive  the  full  pay 
and  emoluments  of  their  brevet  rank,  without  rendering 
proportionate  service.  Details  for  marine  service  could 
as  well  be  made  from  the  artillery  or  infantry — there  being 
no  peculiar  training  requsite  for  it. 

With  these  improvements,  and  snch  others  as  zealous 
watchfulness  and  mature  consideration  may  suggest,  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that,  under  an  energetic  administration 
of  its  affairs,  the  navy  may  soon  be  made  every  thing  that 
the  nation  wishes  it  to  be.  Its  efficiency  in  the  suppres 
sion  of  piracy  in  the  West  India  seas,  and  wherever  its 
squadrons  have  been  employed  in  securing  the  interests 
of  the  country,  will  appear  from  the  report  of  the  secre 
tary  to  which  I  refer  you,  for  other  interesting  details. 
Among  these  I  would  bespeak  the  attention  of  Congress 
from  the  views  presented  in  iclation  to  the  inequality 
between  the  army  and  navy  as  to  the  pay  of  officers. 
No  such  inequality  should  prevail  between  these  brave 
defenders  of  their  country  ;  and  where  it  does  exist,  it  is 
submitted  to  Congress  whether  it  ought  not  to  be  recti 
fied. 

The  report  of  the  Postmaster-general  is  referred  to  as 
exhibiting  a  highly  satisfactory  administration  of  tha 


JACKSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  133 

department.  Abuses  have  been  reformed  ;  increased  ex 
pedition  in  the  transportation  of  the  mail  secured ;  and 
its  revenue  much  improved.  In  a  political  point  of  view 
this  department  is  chiefly  important  as  affording  the  means 
of  diffusing  knowledge.  It  is  to  the  body  politic  what 
the  veins  and  arteries  are  to  the  natural — conveying  ra 
pidly  and  regularly  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the  system, 
correct  information  of  the  operations  of  the  government ; 
and  bringing  back  to  it  the  wishes  and  feelings  of  the 
people.  Through  its  agency,  we  have  secured  to  our 
selves  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  a  free  press. 
In  this  general  survey  of  our  affairs,  a  subject  of  high 
importance  presents  itself  in  the  present  organization  of 
the  judiciary.  A  uniform  operation  of  the  federal  go 
vernment  in  the  different  states  is  certainly  desirable ; 
and  existing  as  they  do  in  the  Union,  on  the  basis  of  per 
fect  equality,  each  state  has  a  right  to  expect  that  the 
benefits  conferred  on  the  citizens  of  others  should  be  ex 
tended  to  hers.  The  judicial  system  of  the  United  States 
exists  in  all  its  efficiency  in  only  fifteen  members  of  the 
Union :  to  three  others,  the  circuit  courts,  which  consti 
tute  an  important  part  of  that  system,  have  been  imper 
fectly  extended;  and  to  the  remaining  six,  altogether  de 
nied.  The  effect  has  been  to  withhold  from  the  inhabi 
tants  of  the  latter,  the  advantages  afforded  (by  the  supreme 
court)  to  their  fellow-citizens  in  other  states,  in  the  whole 
extent  of  the  criminal,  and  much  of  the  civil  authority  of 
the  federal  judiciary.  That  this  state  of  things  ought  to 
be  remedied,  if  it  can  be  done  consistently  with  the  pub 
lic  welfare,  is  not  to  be  doubted :  neither  is  it  to  be  dis 
guised  that  the  organization  of  our  judicial  system  is 
at  once  a  difficult  and  delicate  task.  To  extend  the 
circuit  courts  equally  throughout  the  different  parts  of 
the  Union,  and  at  the  same  time,  to  avoid  such  a  mul 
tiplication  of  members  as  would  encumber  the  supreme 
appellate  tribunal,  is  the  object  desired.  Perhaps  it 
might  be  accomplished  by  dividing  the  circuit  judges  into 
two  classes,  and  providing  that  the  supreme  court  should 
be  held  by  those  classes  alternately — the  chief  justice 
always  presiding. 

If  an  extension  of  the  circuit  court   system  to  those 


154  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

states  which  do  not  now  enjoy  its  benefits  should  be  de 
termined  upon,  it  would  of  course  be  necessary  to  revise 
the  present  arrangements  of  the  circuits  ;  and  even  u  that 
system  should  not  be  enlarged,  suoh  a  revision  is  recom 
mended. 

A  provision  for  taking  the  census  of  the  people  of  the 
United  Slates  will,  to  insure  the  completion  of  that  work 
within  a  convenient  time,  claim  the  early  attention  of 
Congress. 

The  great  and  constant  increase  of  business  in  the  De 
partment  of  State  forced  itself,  at  an  early  period,  upon 
the  attention  of  the  executive.  Thirteen  years  a#o,  it 
was  in  Mr.  Madison's  last  message  to  Congress  maue  the 
subject  of  a>i  earnest  recommendation,  which  has  be^u  re 
peated  by  both  of  his  successors  ;  and  my  comparatively 
limited  experience  has  satisfied  me  of  its  justness.  It 
has  arisen  from  many  causes,  not  the  least  of  wuich  is 
the  large  addition  that  has  been  made  to  the  family  of  in 
dependent  nations,  and  the  proportionate  extension  of  our 
foreign  relations.  The  remedy  proposed  was  Lie  esta 
blishment  of  a  Home  Department — a  measure  wh.ch  does 
not  appear  to  have  met  the  views  of  Congress,  on  account 
of  its  supposed  tendency  to  increase  gradually,  and  im 
perceptibly,  the  already  too  strong  bias  of  tht  federal 
system  towards  the  exercise  of  authority  not  delegated  to 
it.  I  am  not,  therefore,  disposed  to  revive  the  reu>mnien- 
dation  ;  but  am  not  the  less  impressed  with  the  impor 
tance  of  so  organizing  that  department,  that  its  secretary 
may  devote  more  of  his  time  to  our  foreign  iclations. 
Clearly  satisfied  that  the  public  good  would  be  promoted 
by  some  suitable  provision  on  the  subject,  I  respectfully 
invite  your  attention  to  it. 

The  charter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  expires 
in  1836,  and  its  stockholders  will  most  probably  apply  for 
a  renewal  of  their  privileges.  In  order  to  avoid  the  evils 
resulting  from  precipitancy  in  a  measure  involving  such 
important  principles,  and  such  deep  pecuniary  interests, 
1  feel  that  I  cannot,  in  justice  to  the  parties  interested, 
too  soon  present  it  to  the  deliberate  consideration  of  the 
legislature  and  the  people.  Both  the  constitutionality  and 
the  expediency  of  the  law  creating  this  bank  are  well 


JACKSON'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  155 

questioned  by  a  large  portion  of  our  fellow-citizens  ;  and 
it  must  be  admitted  by  all,  that  it  has  failed  in  the  great 
end  of  establishing  a  uniform  and  sound  currency. 

Under  these  circumstances,  if  such  an  institution  is 
deemed  essential  to  the  fiscal  operations  of  the  govern 
ment,  I  submit  to  the  wisdom  of  the  legislature  whether 
a  national  one,  founded  upon  the  credit  of  the  govern 
ment  and  its  revenues,  might  not  be  devised,  which  would 
cvoid  all  constitutional  difficu  ties ;  and  at  the  same  time, 
secure  all  the  advantages  to  the  government  and  country 
that  were  expected  to  result  from  the  present  bank. 

I  cannot  close  this  communication  without  bringing  to 
your  view  the  just  claim  of  the  representatives  of  Com 
modore  Decatur,  his  officers  and  crew,  arising  from  the 
re-capture  of  the  frigate  Philadelphia,  under  the  heavy 
batteries  of  Tripoli.  Although  sensible,  as  a  general  rule, 
of  the  impropriety  of  executive  interference  under  a  gov 
ernment  like  ours,  where  every  individual  enjoys  the 
light  of  directly  petitioning  Congress  ;  yet  viewing  this 
case  as  one  of  very  peculiar  character,  [  deem  it  my  duty 
to  recommend  it  to  your  favorable  consideration.  Be 
sides  the  justice  of  this  claim,  as  corresponding  to  those 
which  have  been  since  recognized  and  satisfied,  it  is  the 
fruit  of  a  deed  of  patriotic  and  chivalrous  daring,  which 
infused  life  and  confidence  into  our  infant  navy,  and  con 
tributed,  as  much  as  any  exploit  in  its  history,  to  elevate 
our  national  character.  Public  gratitude,  therefore, 
stamps  iier  seal  upon  it;  and  the  meed  should  not  be 
withheld  which  may  hereafter  operate  as  a  stimulus  to 
our  gallant  tars. 

I  now  commend  you,  fellow-citizens,  to  the  guidance 
of  Almighty  God,  with  a  full  reliance  on  his  merciful 
providence  for  the  maintenance  of  our  free  institutions ; 
and  with  an  earnest  supplication,  that  whatever  errors  it 
may  be  my  lot  to  commit,  in  discharging  the  arduous  du 
ties  which  have  devolved  on  me,  will  find  a  remedy  in 
the  harmony  and  wisdom  of  your  counsels. 


15G  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 


JACKSON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 

Fellow  Citizens: 

Being  about  to  retire  finally  from  public  life,  I  beg  leav« 
to  offer  you  my  grateful  thanks  for  the  many  proofs  of 
kindness  and  confidence  which  I  have  received  at  your 
hands.  It  has  been  my  fortune,  in  the  discharge  of  public 
duties,  civil  and  military,  frequently  to  have  found  myself 
in  difficult  and  trying  situations,  where  prompt  decision 
and  energetic  action  were  necessary,  and  where  the  inte 
rests  of  the  country  required  that  high  responsibilities 
should  be  fearlessly  encountered ;  and  it  is  with  the  deep 
est  emotions  of  gratitude  that  I  acknowledge  the  continued 
and  unbroken  confidence  with  which  you  have  sustained 
me  in  every  trial.  My  public  life  has  been  a  long  one, 
and  I  cannot  hope  that  it  has  at  all  times  been  free  from 
errors. 

But  I  have  the  consolation  of  knowing  that  if  mistakes 
have  been  committed,  they  have  not  seriously  injured  the 
country  I  so  anxiously  endeavored  to  serve  ;  and  at  the 
moment  when  I  surrender  my  last  public  trust,  1  leave  this 
great  people  prosperous  and  happy;  in  the  full  enjoyment 
of  liberty  and  peace ;  and  honored  and  respected  by  every 
nation  of  the  world. 

If  my  humble  efforts  have,  in  any  degree,  contributed 
to  preserve  to  you  these  blessings,  I  have  been  more  than 
rewarded  by  the  honor  you  have  heaped  upon  me  ;  and, 
above  all,  by  the  generous  confidence  with  which  you 
have  supported  me  in  every  peril,  and  with  which  you 
have  continued  to  animate  and  cheer  my  path  to  the 
closing  hour  of  my  political  life.  The  time  has  now  come, 
when  advanced  age  and  a  broken  frame  warn  me  to  re 
tire  from  public  concerns ;  but  the  recollection  of  the 
many  favors  you  have  bestowed  upon  me  is  engraven 
upon  my  heart,  and  I  have  felt  that  I  could  not  part  from 
your  service  without  making  this  public  acknowledgment 
of  the  gratitude  I  owe  you.  And  if  I  use  the  occasion  to 
offer  to  you  the  counsels  of  age  and  experience,  you  will, 
I  trust,  receive  them  with  the  same  indulgent  kindness 
which  you  have  so  often  extended  to  me  ;  and  will,  at  least, 


JACKSON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS.  157 

see  in  them  an  earnest  desire  to  perpetuate,  in  this  favor 
ed  land,  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  equal  laws. 

We  have  now  lived  almost  fifty  years  under  the  consti 
tution  framed  by  the  sages  and  patriots  of  the  revolution. 
The  conflicts  in  which  the  nations  of  Europe  were  en 
gaged  during  a  great  part  of  this  period  ;  the  spirit  in 
which  they  waged  war  with  each  other;  and  our  intimate 
commercial  connections  with  every  part  of  the  civilized 
world,  rendered  it  a  time  of  much  difficulty  for  the  go 
vernment  of  the  United  States.  We  have  had  our  sea 
sons  of  peace  and  of  war,  with  all  the  evils  which  precede 
or  follow  a  state  of  hostility  with  powerful  nations.  We 
encountered  these  trials  with  our  constitution  yet  in  its 
infancy,  and  under  the  disadvantages  which  a  new  and 
untried  government  must  always  feel  when  it  is  called  to 
put  forth  its  whole  strength,  without  the  lights  of  expe 
rience  to  guide  it,  or  the  weight  of  precedent  to  justify  its 
measures.  But  we  have  passed  triumphantly  through  all 
these  difficulties.  Our  constitution  is  no  longer  a  doubtful 
experiment ;  and  at  the  end  of  nearly  half  a  century,  we 
find  that  it  has  preserved  unimpaired  the  liberties  of  the 
people,  secured  the  rights  of  property,  and  that  our  coun 
try  has  improved,  and  is  flourishing  beyond  any  former 
example  in  the  history  of  nations. 

In  our  domestic  concerns,  there  is  every  thing  to  en 
courage  us ;  and  if  you  are  true  to  yourselves,  nothing 
can  impede  your  march  to  the  highest  point  of  national 
prosperity.  The  states  which  had  so  long  been  retarded 
in  their  improvement,  by  the  Indian  tribes  residing  in  the 
midst  of  them,  are  at  length  relieved  from  the  evil ;  and 
this  unhappy  race — the  original  dwellers  in  our  land — are 
now  placed  in  a  situation  where  we  may  well  hope  that 
they  will  share  in  the  blessings  of  civilization,  and  be 
saved  from  that  degradation  and  destruction  to  which  they 
were  rapidly  hastening  while  they  remained  in  the  states ; 
and  while  the  safety  and  comfort  of  our  own  citizens 
have  been  greatly  promoted  by  tfieir  removal,  the  philan 
thropist  will  rejoice  that  the  remnant  of  that  ill-fated  race 
has  been  at  length  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  injury  or 
oppression,  and  that  the  paternal  care  of  the  general 
14 


158  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

government  will  hereafter  watch  over  them  and  protect 
them. 

If  we  turn  to  our  relations  with  foreign  powers,  we 
find  our  condition  equally  gratifying.  Actuated  by  the 
sincere  desire  to  do  justice  to  every  nation,  and  to  pre 
serve  the  blessing  of  peace,  our  intercourse  with  them 
has  been  conducted  on  the  part  of  this  government  in 
the  spirit  of  frankness,  and  I  take  pleasure  in  saying  that 
it  has  generally  been  met  in  a  corresponding  temper. 
Difficulties  of  old  standing  have  been  surmounted  by 
friendly  discussion  and  the  mutual  desire  to  be  just;  and 
the  claims  of  our  citizens,  which  had  been  long  withheld, 
have  at  length  been  acknowledged  and  adjusted,  and  satis 
factory  arrangements  made  for  their  final  payment ;  and 
with  a  limited,  and,  1  trust,  a  temporary  exception,  our 
relations  with  every  foreign  power  are  now  of  the  most 
friendly  character,  our  commerce  continually  expanding, 
and  our  flag  respected  in  every  quarter  of  the  world. 

These  cheering  and  grateful  prospects,  and  these  mul 
tiplied  favors,  we  owe,  under  Providence,  to  the  adoption 
of  the  federal  constitution.  It  is  no  longer  a  question 
whether  this  great  country  can  remain  happily  united,  and 
flourish  under  our  present  form  of  government.  Expe 
rience,  the  unerring  test  of  all  human  undertakings,  has 
shown  the  wisdom  and  foresight  of  those  who  framed  it, ; 
and  has  proved,  that  in  the  union  of  these  states  there  is 
a  sure  foundation  for  the  brightest  hopes  of  freedom,  and 
for  the  happiness  of  the  people.  At  every  hazard,  and 
by  every  sacrifice,  this  union  must  be  preserved. 

The  necessity  of  watching  with  jealous  anxiety  for  the 
preservation  of  the  union,  was  earnestly  pressed  upon  his 
fellow-citizens  by  the  father  of  his  country,  in  his  fare 
well  address.  He  has  there  told  us,  that  "  while  expe 
rience  shall  not  have  demonstrated  its  impracticability, 
there  will  always  be  reason  to  distrust  the  patriotism  of 
those  who,  in  any  quarter,  may  endeavor  to  weaken  its 
bonds;"  and  he  has  cautioned  us  in  the  strongest  terms 
against  the  formation  of  parties,  on  geographical  discri 
minations,  as  one  of  the  means  which  might  disturb  our 
union,  and  to  which  designing  men  would  be  likely  to 
resort. 


159 

The  lessons  contained  in  this  invaluable  legacy  of 
Washington  to  his  countrymen,  should  be  cherished  in 
the  heart  of  every  citizen  to  the  latest  generation  ;  and, 
perhaps,  at  no  period  of  time  could  they  be  more  usefully 
remembered  than  at  the  present  moment.  For  when  we 
look  upon  the  scenes  that  are  passing  around  us,  and 
dwell  upon  the  pages  of  his  parting  address,  his  paternal 
counsels  would  seem  to  be  not  merely  the  offspring  of 
wisdom  and  foresight,  but  the  voice  of  prophecy  foretell 
ing  events,  and  warning  us  of  the  evil  10  come.  Forty 
)-ears  have  passed  since  this  imperishable  document  was 
given  to  his  countrymen.  The  federal  constitution  was 
then  regarded  by  him  as  an  experiment,  and  he  so  speaks 
of  it  in  his  address ;  but  an  experiment  upon  the  success 
of  which  the  best  hopes  of  his  country  depended,  and  we 
all  know  that  he  was  prepared  to  lay  down  his  life,  if 
necessary,  to  secure  to  it  a  full  and  fair  trial.  The  trial 
has  been  made.  It  has  succeeded  beyond  the  proudest 
hopes  of  those  who  framed  it.  Every  quarter  of  this 
widely  extended  nation  has  felt  its  blessings,  and  shared 
in  the  general  prosperity  produced  by  its  adoption.  But 
amid  this  general  prosperity  and  splendid  success,  the 
dangers  of  which  he  warned  us  are  becoming  every  day 
more  evident,  and  the  signs  of  evil  are  sufficiently  appa 
rent  to  awaken  the  deepest  anxiety  in  the  bosom  of  the 
patriot.  We  behold  systematic  efforts  publicly  made  to 
sow  the  seeds  of  discord  between  different  parts  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  place  party  divisions  directly  upon 
geographical  distinctions ;  to  excite  the  south  against  the 
north,  and  the  north  against  the  south,  and  to  force  into 
the  controversy  the  most  delicate  and  excited  topics  upon 
which  it  is  impossible  that  a  large  portion  of  the  Union 
can  ever  speak  without  strong  emotions.  Appeals,  too, 
are  constantly  made  to  sectional  interests,  in  order  to  in 
fluence  the  election  of  the  chief  magistrate,  as  if  it  were 
desired  that  he  should  favor  a  particular  quarter  of  the 
country,  instead  of  fulfilling  the  duties  of  his  station  with 
impartial  justice  to  all ;  and  the  possible  dissolution  of  the 
Union  has  at  length  become  an  ordinary  and  familiar 
subject  of  discussion.  Has  the  warning  voice  of  Wash 
ington  been  forgotten  ?  or  have  designs  already  been 


160  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

formed  to  sever  the  Union  ?  Let  it  not  be  supposed  that 
I  impute  to  all  of  those  who  have  taken  an  active  part  in 
these  unwise  and  unprofitable  discussions  a  waift  of  patri 
otism  or  of  public  virtue.  The  honorable  feeling  of  state 
pride  and  local  attachments,  find  a  place  in  the  bosoms 
of  the  most  enlightened  and  pure.  But  while  such  men 
are  conscious  of  iheir  own  integrity  and  honesty  of  pur 
pose,  they  ought  never  to  forget  that  the  citizens  of  other 
states  are  their  political  brethren  ;  and  that,  however  mis 
taken  they  may  be  in  their  views,  the  great  body  of  them 
are  equally  honest  and  upright  with  themselves.  Mutual 
suspicions  and  reproaches  may  in  time  create  mutual 
hostility,  and  artful  and  designing  men  will  always  be 
found,  who  are  ready  to  foment  these  fatal  divisions,  and 
to  inflame  the  natural  jealousies  of  different  sections  of 
the  country.  The  history  of  the  world  is  full  of  such 
examples,  and  especially  the  history  of  republics. 

What  have  you  to  gain  by  division  and  dissention  ? 
Delude  not  yourselves  with  the  belief  that  a  breach  once 
made  may  be  afterwards  repaired.  If  the  Union  is  once 
severed,  the  line  of  separation  will  grow  wider  and  wider, 
and  the  controversies  which  are  now  debated  and  settled 
in  the  halls  of  legislation,  will  then  be  tried  in  fields  of 
battle,  and  be  determined  by  the  sword.  Neither  should 
you  deceive  yourselves  with  the  hope,  that  the  first  line 
of  separation  would  be  the  permanent  one,  and  that  no 
thing  but  harmony  and  concord  would  be  found  in  the 
new  associations,  formed  upon  the  dissolution  of  this 
Union.  Local  interests  would  still  be  found  there,  and 
unchastened  ambition.  And  if  the  recollection  of  com 
mon  dangers,  in  which  the  people  of  these  United  States 
stood  side  by  side  against  the  common  foe  ;  the  memory 
of  victories  won  by  their  united  valor ;  the  prosperity  and 
happiness  they  have  enjoyed  under  the  present  constitu 
tion  ;  the  proud  name  they  bear  as  citizens  of  this  great 
republic ;  if  these  recollections  and  proofs  of  common 
interest  are  not  strong  enough  to  bind  us  together  as  one 
people,  what  tie  will  hold  this  Union  dissevered  ?  The 
first  line  of  separation  would  not  last  for  a  single  genera 
tion  ;  new  fragments  would  be  torn  off:  new  leaders  would 
spring  up  ;  and  this  great  and  glorious  republic  would  soon 


JACKSON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS.  161 

be  broken  into  a  multitude  of  petty  states ;  armed  for 
mutual  aggressions  ;  loaded  with  taxes  to  pay  armies  and 
leaders  ;  seeking  aid  against  each  other  from  foreign  pow 
ers  ;  insulted  and  trampled  upon  by  the  nations  of  Eu 
rope,  until  harassed  with  conflicts,  and  humbled  and  de 
based  in  spirit,  they  would  be  ready  to  submit  to  the 
absolute  dominion  of  any  military  adventurer,  and  to  sur 
render  their  liberty  for  the  sake  of  repose.  It  is  impossi 
ble  to  look  on  the  consequences  that  would  inevitably 
follow  the  destruction  of  this  government,  and  not  feel 
indignant  when  we  hear  cold  calculations  about  the  value 
of  the  Union,  and  have  so  constantly  before  us  a  line  of 
conduct  so  well  calculated  to  weaken  its  ties. 

There  is  too  much  at  stake  to  allow  pride  or  passion 
to  influence  your  decision.  Never  for  a  moment  believe 
that  the  great  body  of  the  citizens  of  any  state  or  states 
can  deliberately  intend  to  do  wrong.  They  may,  under 
the  influence  of  temporary  excitement  or  misguided  opi 
nions,  commit  mistakes  ;  they  may  be  misled  for  a  time 
by  the  suggestions  of  self-interest ;  but  in  a  community 
so  enlightened  and  patriotic  as  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  argument  will  soon  make  them  sensible  of  their 
errors  ;  and  when  convinced,  they  will  be  ready  to  repair 
them.  If  they  have  no  higher  or  better  motives  to  govern 
them,  they  will  at  least  perceive  that  their  own  interest 
requires  them  to  be  just  to  others  as  they  hope  to  receive 
justice  at  their  hands. 

But  in  order  to  maintain  the  Union  unimpaired,  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  that  the  laws  passed  by  the  constitu 
te*!  authorities  should  be  faithfully  executed  in  every  part 
of  the  country,  and  that  every  good  citizen  should,  at  all 
times,  stand  ready  to  put  down,  with  the  combined  force 
of  the  nation,  every  attempt  at  unlawful  resistance,  under 
whatever  pretext  it  may  be  made,  or  whatever  shape  it 
may  assume.  Unconstitutional  or  oppressive  laws  may 
no  doubt  be  passed  by  Congress,  either  from  erroneous 
views  or  the  want  of  due  consideration  ;  if  they  are  within 
reach  of  judicial  authority,  the  remedy  is  easy  and  peace 
ful  ;  and  if,  from  the  character  of  the  law,  it  is  an  abuse 
of  power  not  within  the  control  of  the  judiciary,  then  free 
discussion  and  calm  appeals  to  reason  and  to  the  justice 
J4* 


162  THE  THUE  REPUBLICAN. 

01  the  people,  will  not  fail  to  redress  the  wrong.  But 
until  the  law  shall  be  declared  void  by  the  courts,  or  re 
pealed  by  Congress,  no  individual  or  combination  of  indi 
viduals,  can  be  justified  in  forcibly  resisting  its  execution. 
It  is  impossible  that  any  government  can  continue  to  ex 
ist  upon  any  other  principles.  It  would  cease  to  be  a 
government,  and  be  unworthy  of  the  name,  if  it  had  notthe 
power  to  enforce  the  execution  of  its  own  laws  within  its 
own  sphere  of  action. 

It  is  true  that  cases  may  be  imagined  disclosing  such  a 
settled  purpose  of  usurpation  and  oppression,  on  the  part 
of  the  government,  as  would  justify  an  appeal  to  arms. 
These,  however,  are  extreme  cases,  which  we  have  no 
reason  to  apprehend  in  a  government  where  the  power  is 
in  the  hands  of  a  patriotic  people;  and  no  citizen  who 
loves  his  country,  would  in  any  case  whatever  resort  to 
forcible  resistance,  unless  he  clearly  saw  that  the  time  had 
come  when  a  freeman  should  prefer  death  to  submission ; 
for  if  such  a  struggle  is  once  begun,  and  the  citizens  of 
one  section  of  the  country,  arrayed  in  arms  against  those 
of  another,  in  doubtful  conflict,  let  the  battle  result  as  it 
may,  there  will  be  an  end  of  the  Union,  and  with  it  an  end 
of  the  hopes  of  freedom.  The  victory  of  the  injured 
would  not  secure  to  them  the  blessings  of  liberty  ;  it 
would  avenge  their  wrongs,  but  they  would  themselves 
share  in  the  common  ruin. 

But  the  constitution  cannot  be  maintained,  nor  the 
Union  preserved,  in  opposition  to  public  feeling,  by  the 
mere  exertion  of  the  coercive  powers  confided  to  the 
general  government.  The  foundations  must  be  laid  in 
the  affections  of  the  people ;  in  the  security  it  gives  to 
life,  liberty,  character,  and  property,  in  every  quarter  of 
the  country  ;  and  in  the  fraternal  attachments  which  the 
citizens  of  the  several  states  bear  to  one  another,  as  mem 
bers  of  one  political  family,  mutually  contributing  to  pro 
mote  the  happiness  of  each  other.  Hence  the  citizens  of 
every  state  should  studiously  avoid  every  thing  calculated 
to  wound  the  sensibility  or  offend  the  just  pride  of  the 
people  of  other  states  ;  and  they  should  frown  upon  any 
proceedings  within  their  own  borders  likely  to  disturb  the 
tranquillity  of  their  political  brethren  in  other  portions  of 


JACKSON  S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS.  163 

the  Union.  In  a  country  so  extensive  as  the  United 
States,  and  with  pursuits  so  varied,  the  internal  regula 
tions  of  the  several  states  must  frequently  differ  from  one 
another  in  important  particulars  ;  and  this  difference  is  un 
avoidably  increased  by  the  varying  principles  upon  which 
the  American  colonies  were  originally  planted  ;  princi 
ples  which  had  taken  deep  root  in  their  social  relations 
before  the  revolution,  and  therefore,  of  necessity,  influen 
cing  their  policy  since  they  became  free  and  independent 
states.  But  each  state  has  the  unquestionable  right  to 
regulate  its  own  internal  concerns  according  to  its 
own  pleasure;  and  while  it  does  not  interfere  with  the 
rights  of  the  people  of  other  states,  or  tlfe  rights  of  the 
Union,  every  state  must  be  the  sole  judge  of  that  measure 
proper  to  secure  the  safety  of  its  citizens  and  promote 
their  happiness  ;  and  all  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  people 
of  other  states  to  cast  odium  upon  their  institutions,  and 
all  measures  calculated  to  disturb  their  rights  of  property, 
or  to  put  in  jeopardy  their  peace  and  internal  tranquillity, 
are  in  direct  opposition  to  the  spirit  in  which  the  Union 
was  formed,  and  must  endanger  its  safety.  Motives  of 
philanthropy  may  be  assigned  for  this  unwarrantable  in 
terference  ;  and  weak  men  may  persuade  themselves  for 
a  moment  that  they  are  laboring  in  the  cause  of  humanity, 
and  asserting  the  rights  of  the  human  race;  but  every 
one,  upon  sober  reflection,  will  see  that  nothing  but  mis 
chief  can  come  from  these  improper  assaults  upon  the  feel 
ings  and  rights  of  others.  Rest  assured,  that  the  men 
found  busy  in  this  work  of  discord  are  not  worthy  of  your 
confidence,  and  deserve  your  strongest  reprobation. 

In  the  legislation  of  Congress,  also,  and  in  every  mea 
sure  of  the  general  government,  justice  to  every  portion 
of  the  United  States  should  be  faithfully  observed.  No 
free  government  can  stand  without  virtue  in  the  people, 
and  a  lofty  spirit  of  patriotism;  and  if  the  sordid  feelings 
of  mere  selfishness  shall  usurp  the  place  which  ought  to 
be  filled  by  public  spirit,  the  legislation  of  Congress  will 
soon  be  converted  into  a  scramble  for  personal  and  sec 
tional  advantages.  Under  our  free  institutions  the  citi 
zens  in  every  quarter  of  our  country  are  capable  of  attain 
ing  a  high  degree  of  prosperity  and  happiness,  without 


164  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

seeking  to  profit  themselves  at  the  expense  of  others ;  and 
every  such  attempt  must  in  the  end  fail  to  succeed,  for 
the  people  in  every  part  of  the  United  States  are  too  en 
lightened  not  to  understand  their  own  rights  and  interests, 
and  to  detect  and  defeat  every  effort  to  gain  undue  advan 
tages  over  them ;  and  when  such  designs  are  discovered 
it  naturally  provokes  resentments  which  cannot  be  always 
allayed.  Justice,  full  and  ample  justice,  to  every  portion 
of  the  United  States,  should  be  the  ruling  principle  of 
every  freeman,  and  should  guide  the  deliberations  of 
every  public  body,  whether  it  be  state  or  national. 

It  is  well  known  that  there  have  always  been  those 
among  us  who  wish  to  enlarge  the  powers  of  the  general 
government ;  and  experience  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
there  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  this  government  to 
overstep  the  boundaries  marked  out  for  it  by  the  consti 
tution.  Its  legitimate  authority  is  abundantly  sufficient 
for  all  the  purposes  for  which  it  is  created  ;  and  its  pow 
ers  being  expressly  enumerated,  there  can  be  no  justifica 
tion  for  claiming  any  thing  beyond  them.  Every  attempt 
to  exercise  power  beyond  these  limits  should  be  promptly 
and  firmly  opposed.  For  one  evil  example  will  lead  to 
other  measures  still  more  mischievous  ;  and  if  the  prin 
ciple  of  constructive  powers,  or  supposed  advantages,  or 
temporary  circumstances,  shall  ever  be  permitted  to  jus 
tify  the  assumption  of  a  power  not  given  by  the  constitu 
tion,  the  general  government  will  before  long  absorb  all  the 
powers  of  legislation,  and  you  will  have  in  effect,  but  one 
consolidated  government.  From  the  extent  of  our  coun 
try,  its  diversified  interests,  different  pursuits,  and  diffe 
rent  habits,  it  is  too  obvious  for  argument  that  a  single 
consolidated  government  would  be  wholly  inadequate  to 
watch  over  and  protect  its  interests  ;  and  every  friend  of 
our  free  institutions  should  be  always  prepared  to  main 
tain  unimpaired  and  in  full  vigor  the  rights  and  sove 
reignty  of  the  states,  and  to  confine  the  action  of  the 
general  government  strictly  to  the  sphere  of  its  appropri 
ate  duties. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  one  of  the  powers  conferred  on 
the  federal  government  so  liable  to  abuse  as  the  taxing 
power.  The  most  productive  rind  convenient  sources  of 


165 

revenue  were  necessarily  given  to  it,  that  it  might  perform 
the  important  duties  imposed  upon  it;  and  the  taxes 
which  it  lays  upon  commerce  being  concealed  from  the 
real  payer  in  the  price  of  the  article,  they  do  not  so  rea 
dily  attract  the  attention  of  the  people  as  smaller  sums 
demanded  from  them  directly  by  the  tax-gatherer.  But 
the  tax  imposed  on  goods,  enhances  by  so  much  the  price 
of  the  commodity  to  the  consumer ;  and  as  many  of  these 
duties  are  imposed  on  articles  of  necessity  which  are 
daily  used  by  the  great  body  of  the  people,  the  money 
raised  by  these  imposts  is  drawn  from  their  pockets.  Con 
gress  has  no  right  under  the  constitution  to  take  money 
from  th^  people  unless  it  is  required  to  execute  some  one 
of  the  specific  powers  intrusted  to  the  government :  and 
if  they  raise  more  than  is  necessary  for  such  purposes, 
it  is  an  abuse  of  the  power  of  taxation,  and  unjust  and 
oppressive.  It  may  indeed  happen  that  the  revenue 
will  sometimes  exceed  the  amount  anticipated  when  the 
taxes  were  laid.  When,  however,  this  is  ascertained,  it 
is  easy  to  reduce  them ;  and,  in  such  a  case,  it  is  unques 
tionably  the  duty  of  the  government  to  reduce  them,  for 
no  circumstances  can  justify  it  in  assuming  a  power  not 
given  to  it  by  the  constitution,  nor  in  taking  away  the 
money  of  the  people  when  it  is  not  needed  for  the  legiti 
mate  wants  of  the  government. 

Plain  as  these  principles  appear  to  be,  you  will  find 
that  there  is  a  constant  effort  to  induce  the  general  go 
vernment  to  go  beyond  the  limits  of  its  taxing  power,  and 
to  impose  unnecessary  burdens  upon  the  people.  Many 
powerful  interests  are  continually  at  work  to  procure  heavy 
duties  on  commerce,  and  to  swell  the  revenue  beyond 
the  real  necessities  of  the  public  service ;  and  the  country 
has  already  felt  the  injurious  effects  of  their  combined  in 
fluence.  They  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  tariff  of  duties 
bearing  most  oppressively  on  the  agricultural  and  laboring 
classes  of  society,  and  producing  a  revenue  that  could 
not  be  usefully  employed  within  the  range  of  the  powers 
conferred  upon  Congress;  and,  in  order  to  fasten  upon 
the  people  this  unjust  and  unequal  system  of  taxation, 
extravagant  schemes  of  internal  improvement  were  got  up, 
in  various  quarters,  to  squander  the  money  and  to  pur- 


168  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN". 

chase  support.  Thus,  one  unconstitutional  measure  was 
intended  to  be  upheld  by  another,  and  the  abuse  of  the 
power  of  taxation  was  to  be  maintained  by  usurping  the 
power  of  expending1  the  money  in  internal  improvements. 
You  cannot  have  forgotten  the  severe  and  doubtful  strug 
gle  through  which  we  passed,  when  the  executive  depart 
ment  of  the  government,  by  its  veto,  endeavored  to  arrest 
this  prodigal  scheme  of  injustice,  and  to  bring  back  the 
legislation  of  Congress  to  the  boundaries  prescribed  by 
the  constitution.  The  good  sense  and  practical  judgment 
of  the  people,  when  the  subject  was  brought  before  them, 
sustained  the  course  of  the  executive  ;  and  this  plan  of 
unconstitutional  expenditure  for  the  purposes  of  corrupt 
influence  is,  I  trust,  finally  overthrown. 

The  result  of  this  decision  has  been  felt  in  the  rapid 
extinguishment  of  the  public  debt,  and  the  large  accumu 
lation  of  a  surplus  in  the  treasury,  notwithstanding  the 
tariff  was  reduced,  and  is  now  far  below 'the  amount  ori 
ginally  contemplated  by  its  advocates.  But,  rely  upon  it, 
the  design  to  collect  an  extravagant  revenue,  and  to  bur 
den  you  with  taxes  beyond  the  economical  wants  of  the 
government  is  not  yet  abandoned.  The  various  interests 
which  have  combined  together  to  impose  a  heavy  tariff, 
and  to  produce  an  overflowing  treasury,  are  too  strong, 
and  have  too  much  at  stake,  to  surrender  the  contest. 
The  corporations  and  wealthy  individuals  who  are  en 
gaged  in  large  manufacturing  establishments,  desire  a  high 
tariff  to  increase  their  gains.  Designing  politicians  will 
support  it  to  conciliate  their  favor,  and  to  obtain  the 
means  of  profuse  expenditure,  for  the  purpose  of  purcha 
sing  influence  in  other  quarters  ;  and  since  the  people 
have  decided  that  the  federal  government  cannot  be  per 
mitted  to  employ  its  income  in  internal  improvements, 
efforts  will  be  made  to  seduce  and  mislead  the  citizens 
of  the  several  states  by  holding  out  to  them  the  deceitful 
prospect  of  benefits  to  be  derived  from  a  surplus  revenue 
collected  by  the  general  government,  and  annually  divi 
ded  among  the  states.  And  if  encouraged  by  these  falla 
cious  hopes,  the  states  should  disregard  the  principles  of 
economy  which  ought  to  characterize  every  republican 
government,  and  should  indulge  in  lavish  expenditures 


JACKSON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS.  167 

exceeding  their  resources,  they  will,  before  long,  find 
themselves  oppressed  with  debts  which  they  are  unable 
to  pay,  and  the  temptation  will  become  irresistible  to  sup 
port  a  high  tariff,  in  order  to  obtain  a  surplus  distribution. 
Do  not  allow  yourselves,  my  fellow-citizens,  to  be  mis 
led  on  this  subject.  The  federal  government  cannot  col 
lect  a  surplus  for  such  purposes,  without  violating  the 
principles  of  the  constitution,  and  assuming  powers  which 
have  not  been  granted.  It  is,  moreover,  a  system  of  in 
justice,  and,  if  persisted  in,  will  inevitably  lead  to  cor 
ruption  and  must  end  in  ruin.  The  surplus  revenue  will 
be  drawn  from  the  pockets  of  the  people — from  the  far 
mer,  the  mechanic,  and  the  laboring  classes  of  society; 
but  who  will  "receive  it  when  distributed  among  the  states, 
where  it  is  to  be  disposed  of  by  leading  politicians  who 
have  friends  to  favor,  and  political  partisans  to  gratify  ? 
It  will  certainly  not  be  returned  to  those  who  paid  it, 
and  who  have  most  need  of  it,  and  are  honestly  entitled 
to  it.  There  is  but  one  safe  rule,  and  that  is,  to  confine 
the  general  government  rigidly  within  the  sphere  of  its 
appropriate  duties.  It  has  no  power  to  raise  a  revenue, 
or  impose  taxes,  except  for  the  purposes  enumerated  in 
the  constitution ;  and  if  its  income  is  found  to  exceed  these 
wants,  it  should  be  forthwith  reduced,  and  the  burdens  of 
the  people  so  far  lightened. 

In  reviewing  the  conflicts  which  have  taken  place  be 
tween  different  interests  in  the  United  States,  and  the 
policy  pursued  since  the  adoption  of  our  present  form  of 
government,  we  find  nothing  that  has  produced  such 
deep-seated  evil  as  the  course  of  legislation  in  relation  to 
the  currency.  The  constitution  of  the  United  States  un 
questionably  intended  to  secure  the  people  a  circulating 
medium  of  gold  and  silver.  But  the  establishment  of  a 
national  bank  by  Congress,  with  the  privilege  of  issuing 
paper  money  receivable  in  the  payment  of  the  public  dues, 
and  the  unfortunate  course  of  legislation  in  the  several 
states  upon  the  same  subject,  drove  from  general  circula 
tion  the  constitutional  currency,  and  substituted  one  of 
paper  in  its  place. 

It  was  not  easy  for  men  engaged  in  the  ordinary  pur 
suits  of  business,  whose  attention  had  not  been  particu- 


168  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

larly  drawn  to  the  subject,  to  foresee  all  the  consequences 
of  a  currency  exclusively  of  paper :  and  we  ought  not, 
on  that  account,  to  be  surprised  at  the  facility  with  which 
laws  were  obtained  to  carry  into  effect  the  paper  system. 
Honest,  and  even  enlightened  men  are  sometimes  misled 
by  the  specious  and  plausible  statements  of  the  designing. 
But  experience  has  now  proved  the  mischiefs  and  dangers 
of  a  paper  currency,  and  it  rests  with  you  to  determine 
whether  the  proper  remedy  shall  be  applied. 

The  paper  system  being  founded  on  public  confidence, 
and  having  of  itself  no  intrinsic  value,  it  is  liable  to 
great  and  sudden  fluctuations  ;  thereby  rendering  pro 
perty  insecure,  and  the  wages  of  labor  unsteady  and 
uncertain.  The  corporations  which  create  the  paper 
money  cannot  be  relied  upon  to  keep  the  circulating 
medium  uniform  in  amount.  In  times  of  prosperity, 
when  confidence  is  high,  they  are  tempted,  by  the  pros 
pect  of  gain,  or  by  the  influence  of  those  who  hope  to 
profit  by  it,  to  extend  their  issues  of  paper  beyond  the 
bounds  of  discretion  and  the  reasonable  demands  of 
business.  And  when  these  issues  have  been  pushed  on, 
from  day  to  day,  until  public  confidence  is  at  length 
shaken,  then  a  reaction  takes  place,  and  they  immedi 
ately  withdraw  the  credits  they  have  given ;  suddenly 
curtail  their  issues ;  and  produce  an  unexpected  and 
ruinous  contraction  of  the  circulating  medium,  which  is 
felt  by  the  whole  community.  The  banks,  by  this  means, 
save  themselves,  and  the  mischievous  consequences  of 
their  imprudence  or  cupidity  are  visited  upon  the  public. 
Nor  does  the  evil  stop  here.  These  ebbs  and  flows  in 
the  currency,  and  these  indiscreet  extensions  of  credit, 
naturally  engender  a  spirit  of  speculation  injurious  to  the 
habits  and  character  of  the  people.  We  have  already 
seen  its  effects  in  the  wild  spirit  of  speculation  in  the 
public  lands,  and  various  kinds  of  stocks,  which  within 
the  last  year  or  two,  seized  upon  such  a  multitude  of  our 
citizens,  and  threatened  to  pervade  all  classes  of  society, 
and  to  withdraw  their  attention  from  the  sober  pursuits 
of  honest  industry.  It  is  not  by  encouraging  this  spirit 
that  we  shall  best  preserve  public  virtue,  and  promote 
the  true  interests  of  our  country.  But  if  your  currency 


JACKSON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS.  169 

continues  as  exclusively  paper  as  it  now  is,  it  will  foster 
this  eager  desire  to  amass  wealth  without  labor ;  it  will 
multiply  the  number  of  dependents  on  bank  accommo 
dations  and  bank  favors  ;  the  temptations  to  obtain  money 
at  any  sacrifice  will  become  stronger  and  stronger,  and 
inevitably  lead  to  corruption,  which  will  find  its  way  into 
your  public  councils,  and  destroy,  at  no  distant  day,  the 
purity  of  your  government.  Some  of  the  evils  which 
arise  from  this  system  of  paper,  press  with  peculiar  hard 
ship  upon  the  class  of  society  least  able  to  bear  it.  A 
portion  of  this  currency  frequently  becomes  depreciated 
or  worthless,  and  all  of  it  is  easily  counterfeited,  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  require  peculiar  skill  and  much  experience 
to  distinguish  the  counterfeit  from  the  genuine  notes. 

These  frauds  are  most  generally  perpetrated  in  the 
smaller  notes,  which  are  used  in  the  daily  transactions  of 
ordinary  business  ;  and  the  losses  occasioned  by  them 
are  commonly  thrown  upon  the  laboring  classes  of  society, 
whose  situation  and  pursuits  put  it  out  of  their  po\^er 
to  guard  themselves  from  these  impositions,  and  whose 
daily  wages  are  necessary  for  their  subsistence.  It  is  the 
duty  of  every  government  so  to  regulate  its  currency,  as 
to  protect  this  numerous  class  as  far  as  practicable  from 
the  impositions  of  avarice  and  fraud.  It  is  more  espe 
cially  the  duty  of  the  United  States,  where  the  govern 
ment  fs  emphatically  the  government  of  the  people,  and 
where  this  respectable  portion  of  our  citizens  are  so 
proudly  distinguished  from  the  laboring  classes  of  all 
other  nations,  by  their  independent  spirit,  their  love  of 
liberty,  their  intelligence,  and  their  high  tone  of  moral 
character.  Their  industry  in  peace,  is  the  source  of  our 
wealth  ;  and  their  bravery  in  war,  has  covered  us  with 
glory ,  and  the  government  of  the  United  States  will  but 
ill  discharge  its  duties,  if  it  leaves  them  a  prey  to  such 
dishonest  impositions.  Yet  it  is  evident  that  their  interests 
cannot  be  effectually  protected,  unless  silver  and  gold  are 
restored  to  circulation. 

These  views  alone,  of  the  paper  currency,  are  sufficient 
10  call  for  immediate  reform  ;  but  there  is  another  consi 
deration  which  should  still  more  strongly  press  it  upon 
your  attention. 
15 


170  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

Recent  events  have  proved  that  the  paper  money  sys 
tem  of  this  country,  may  be  used  as  an  engine  to  under 
mine  your  free  institutions  ;  and  that  those  who  desire  to 
engross  all  power  in  the  hands  of  the  few,  and  to  govern 
by  corruption  or  force,  are  aware  of  its  power,  and  pre 
pared  to  employ  it.  Your  banks  now  furnish  your  only 
circulating  medium,  and  money  is  plenty  or  scarce,  ac 
cording  to  the  quantity  of  notes  issued  by  them.  While 
they  have  capitals  not  greatly  disproportioned  to  each 
other,  they  are  competitors  in  business,  and  no  one  of 
them  can  exercise  dominion  over  the  rest;  and  although, 
in  the  present  state  of  the  currency,  these  banks  may 
and  do  operate  injuriously  upon  the  habits  of  business, 
the  pecuniary  concerns,  and  the  moral  tone  of  society ; 
yet,  from  their  number  and  dispersed  situation,  they  can 
not  combine  for  the  purposes  of  political  influence ;  and 
whatever  may  be  the  dispositions  of  some  of  them,  their 
power  of  michief  must  necessarily  be  confined  to  a 
naSTrow  space,  and  felt  only  in  their  immediate  neigh 
borhood. 

But  when  the  charter  for  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States  was  obtained  from  Congress,  it  perfected  the 
schemes  of  the  paper  system,  and  gave  its  advocates  the 
position  they  have  struggled  to  obtain,  from  the  com 
mencement  of  the  federal  government  down  to  the  pre 
sent  hour.  The  immense  capital,  the  peculiar  privileges 
bestowed. upon  it,  enabled  it  to  exercise  despotic  sway 
over  the  other  banks  in  every  part  of  the  country.  From 
its  superior  strength,  it  could  seriously  injure,  if  not  de 
stroy  the  business  of  any  one  of  them  which  might  incur 
its  resentment;  and  it  openly  claimed  for  itself  the  power 
of  regulating  the  currency  throughout  the  United  States. 
In  other  words,  it  asserted  (and  undoubtedly  possessed) 
the  power  to  make  money  plenty  or  scarce,  at  its  pleasure, 
at  any  time,  and  in  any  quarter  of  the  Union  by  con 
trolling  the  issues  of  other  banks,  and  permitting  an 
expansion,  or  compelling  a  general  contraction,  of  the 
circulating  medium,  according  to  its  own  will.  The 
other  banking  institutions  were  sensible  of  its  strength, 
and  they  soon  generally  became  its  obedient  instruments, 
ready  at  all  times,  to  execute  its  mandates ;  and  with  the 


JACKSON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS.  171 

banks  necessarily  went  also  that  numerous  class  of  per 
sons  in  our  commercial  cities,  who  depend  altogether  on 
bank  credits  for  their  solvency  and  means  of  business; 
and  who  are,  therefore,  obliged,  for  their  own  safety,  to 
propitiate  the  favor  of  the  money  power  by  distinguished 
zeal  and  devotion  in  its  service. "  The  result  of  the  ill- 
advised  legislation  which  established  this  great  monopoly 
was  to  concentrate  the  whole  moneyed  power  of  the 
Union,  with  its  boundless  means  of  corruption,  and  its 
numerous  dependents,  under  the  direction  and  command 
of  one  acknowledged  head  ;  thus  organizing  this  particu 
lar  interest  as  one  body,  and  securing  to  it  unity  and 
concert  of  action  throughout  the  United  States,  and  ena 
bling  it  to  bring  forward,  upon  any  occasion,  its  entire 
and  undivided  strength  to  support  or  defeat  any  measure 
of  the  government.  In  the  hands  of  this  formidable 
power,  thus  perfectly  organized,  was  also  placed  unlimited 
dominion  over  the  amount  of  the  circulating  medium, 
giving  it  the  power  to  regulate  the  value  of  property  aijd 
the  fruit  of  labor  in  every  quarter  of  the  Union;  and  to 
bestow  prosperity,  or  bring  ruin  upon  any  city  or  section 
of  the  country,  as  might  best  comport  with  its  own  inte 
rest  or  policy. 

We  are  not  left  to  conjecture  how  the  moneyed  power, 
thus  organized,  and  with  such  a  weapon  in  its  hands, 
would  be  likely  to  use  it.  The  distress  and  alarm  which 
pervaded  and  agitated  the  whole  country,  when  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States  waged  war  upon  the  people,  in  order 
to  compel  them  to  submit  to  its  demands,  cannot  yet  be 
forgotten.  The  ruthless  and  unsparing  temper  with  which 
whole  cities  and  communities  were  oppressed,  individu 
als  impoverished  and  ruined,  and  a  scene  of  cheerful 
prosperity  suddenly  changed  into  one  of  gloom  and 
despondency,  ought  to  be  indelibly  impressed  on  the 
memory  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  If  such 
was  its  power  in  a  time  of  peace,  what  would  it  not  have 
been  in  a  season  of  war,  with*an  enemy  at  your  doors  ? 
No  nation  but  the  freemen  of  the  United  States  could 
have  come  out  victorious  from  such  a  contest;  yet,  if  you 
had  not  conquered,  the  government  would  have  passed 
from  the  hands  of  the  many  to  the  hands  of  the  few ; 


172  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

and  this  organized  money  power,  from  its  secret  con 
clave,  would  have  dictated  the  choice  of  your  highest 
officers,  and  compelled  you  to  make  peace  or  war,  as  best 
suited  their  own  wishes.  The  forms  of  your  govern 
ment  might,  for  a  time,  have  remained;  but  its  living 
spirit  would  have  departed  from  it. 

The  distress  and  sufferings  inflicted  on  the  people  by 
the  bank,  are  some  of  the  fruits  of  that  system  of  policy 
which  is  continually  striving  to  enlarge  the  authority  oi 
the  federal  government  beyond  the  limits  fixed  by  the 
constitution.  The  powers  enumerated  in  that  instru 
ment  do  not  confer  on  Congress  the  right  to  establish 
such  a  corporation  as  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  the  evil  consequences  which  followed  may  warn  us 
of  the  danger  of  departing  from  the  true  rule  of  con 
struction,  and  of  permitting  temporary  circumstances,  or 
the  hope  of  better  promoting  the  public  welfare,  to  influ 
ence  in  any  degree  our  decision  upon  the  extent  of  the 
authority  of  the  general  government.  Let  us  abide  by 
the  constitution  as  it  is  written,  or  amend  it  in  the  con 
stitutional  mode  if  it  is  found  defective. 

The  severe  lessons  of  experience  will,  I  doubt  not,  be 
sufficient  to  prevent  Congress  from  again  chartering 
such  a  monopoly,  even  if  the  constitution  did  not  pre 
sent  an  insuperable  objection  to  it.  But  you  must  re 
member,  rny  fellow-citizens,  that  eternal  vigilance  by  the 
people  is  the  price  of  liberty;  and  that  you  must  pay  the 
price  if  you  wish  to  secure  the  blessing.  It  behoves 
you,  therefore,  to  be  watchful  in  your  states,  as  well  as 
in  the  federal  government.  The  power  which  the  mo 
neyed  interest  can  exercise,  when  concentrated  under  a 
single  head  and  with  our  present  system  of  currency, 
was  sufficiently  demonstrated  in  the  struggle  made  by  the 
United  States  Bank.  Defeated  in  the  general  govern 
ment,  the  same  class  of  intriguers  and  politicians  will 
now  resort  to  the  states,  and  endeavor  to  obtain  there  the 
same  organization,  which  they  failed  to  perpetuate  in 
the  Union  ;  and  with  specious  and  deceitful  plans  of  pub 
lic  advantages,  and  state  interests,  and  state  pride,  they 
will  endeavor  to  establish,  in  the  different  states,  one 
moneyed  institution  with  overgrown  capital,  and  exclu- 


JACKSON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS.  173 

aive  privileges  sufficient  to  enable  it  to  control  the  ope 
rations  of  other  banks.  Such  an  institution  will  be 
pregnant  with  the  same  evils  produced  by  the  Bank  of 
the  United  States,  although  its  sphere  of  action  is  more 
confined  ;  and  in  the  state  in  which  it  is  chartered,  the 
money  power  will  be  able  to  embody  its  whole  strength, 
and  to  move  together  with  undivided  force,  to  accomplish 
any  object  it  may  wish  to  attain.  You  have  already  had 
abundant  evidence  of  its  powers  to  inflict  injury  upon  the 
agricultural,  mechanical,  and  laboring  classes  of  society  ; 
and  over  those  whose  engagements  in  trade  or  specula 
tion  render  them  dependent  on  bank  facilities,  the  domi 
nion  of  the  state  monopoly  will  be  absolute,  and  their 
obedience  unlimited.  With  such  a  bank  and  a  paper 
currency,  the  money  power  would  in  a  few  years  govern 
the  state  and  control  its  measures ;  and  if  a  sufficient 
number  of  states  can  be  induced  to  create  such  estab 
lishments,  the  time  will  soon  come  when  it  will  again  take 
the  field  against  the  United  States,  and  succeed  in  per 
fecting  and  perpetuating  its  organization  by  a  charter 
from  Congress. 

It  is  one  of  the  serious  evils  of  our  present  system  of 
banking  that  it  enables  one  class  of  society — and  that  by 
no  means  a  numerous  one — by  its  control  over  the  cur 
rency,  to  act  injuriously  upon  the  interests  of  all  the 
others,  and  to  exercise  more  than  its  just  proportion  of 
influence  in  political  affairs.  The  agricultural,  the  me 
chanical,  and  the  laboring  classes,  have  little  or  no  share 
in  the  direction  of  the  great  moneyed  corporations  ;  and 
from  their  habits  and  the  nature  of  their  pursuits,  they 
are  incapable  of  forming  extensive  combinations  to  act 
together  with  united  force.  Such  concert  of  action  may 
sometimes  be  produced  in  a  single  city,  or  in  a  small  dis 
trict  of  country,  by  means  of  personal  communications 
with  each  other;  but  they  have  no  regular  or  active  cor 
respondence  with  those  who  are  engaged  in  similar  pur 
suits  in  distant  places  ;  they  have  but  little  patronage  to 
give  to  the  press,  and  exercise  but  a  small  share  of  influ 
ence  over  it;  they  have  no  crowd  of  dependents  about 
them,  who  hope  to  grow  rich  without  labor,  by  their 
countenance  and  favor,  and  who  are,  therefore,  always 
15* 


174  THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

ready  to  execute  their  wishes.  The  planter,  the  farmer, 
the  mechanic,  and  the  laborer,  all  know  that  their  suc 
cess  depends  upon  their  own  industry  and  economy,  and 
that  they  must  not  expect  to  become  suddenly  rich  by  the 
fruits  of  their  toil.  Yet  these  classes  form  the  great  body 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States;  they  are  the  bone 
and  sinew  of  the  country ;  men  who  love  liberty,  and 
desire  nothing  but  equal  rights  and  equal  laws,  and  who, 
moreover,  hold  the  great  mass  of  our  national  wealth,  al 
though  it  is  distributed  in  moderate  amounts  among  the 
millions  of  freemen  who  possess  it.  But,  with  overwhelm 
ing  numbers  and  wealth  on  their  side,  they  are  in  con 
stant  danger  of  losing  their  fair  influence  in  the  govern 
ment,  and  with  difficulty  maintain  their  just  rights  against 
the  incessant  efforts  daily  made  to  encroach  upon  them. 

The  mischief  springs  from  the  power  which  the  mo 
neyed  interest  derives  from  a  paper  currency,  which  they 
are  able  to  control,  from  the  multitude  of  corporations 
with  exclusive  privileges,  which  they  have  succeeded  in 
obtaining  in  the  different  states,  and  which  are  employed 
altogether  for  their  benefit,  and  unless  you  become  more 
watchful  in  your  states,  and  check  this  spirit  of  monopo 
ly  and  thirst  for  exclusive  privileges,  you  will,  in  the  end, 
find  that  the  most  important  powers  of  government  have 
been  given  or  bartered  away,  and  the  control  over  your 
dearest  interests  has  passed  into  the  hands  of  these  cor 
porations. 

The  paper-moneyed  system,  and  its  natural  associates, 
monopoly  and  exclusive  privileges,  have  already  struck 
their  roots  deep  in  the  soil,  and  it  will  require  all  your 
efforts  to  check  its  further  growth,  and  to  eradicate  the 
evil.  The  men  who  profit  by  the  abuses,  and  desire  to 
perpetuate  them,  will  continue  to  besiege  the  halls  of 
legislation  in  the  general  government  as  well  as  in  the 
states,  and  will  seek,  by  every  artifice,  to  mislead  and  de 
ceive  the  public  servants.  It  is  to  yourselves  that  you 
must  look  for  safety  and  the  means  of  guarding  and  per 
petuating  your  free  institutions.  In  your  hands  is  right 
fully  placed  the  sovereignty  of  the  country,  and  to  you 
every  one  placed  in  authority  is  ultimately  responsible. 
It  is  always  in  your  power  to  see  that  the  wishes  of  the 


JACKSON  3  FAREWELL  ADDRESS.  175 

people  are  carried  into  faithful  execution,  and  their  will, 
when  once  made  known,  must  sooner  or  later  be  obeyed. 
And  while  the  people  remain,  as  I  trust  they  ever  will, 
uncorrupted  and  incorruptible,  and  continue  watchful  and 
jealous  of  their  rights,  the  government  is  safe,  and  the 
cause  of  freedom  will  continue  to  triumph  over  all  its 
enemies. 

But  it  will  require  steady  and  persevering  exertions  on 
your  part  to  rid  yourselves  of  the  iniquities  and  mischiefs 
of  the  paper  system,  and  to  check  the  spirit  of  monopoly 
and  other  abuses  which  have  sprung  up  with  it,  and  of 
which  it  is  the  main  support.  So  many  interests  are  uni 
ted  to  resist  all  reform  on  this  subject,  that  you  must  not 
hope  the  conflict  will  be  a  short  one,  nor  success  easy. 
My  humble  efforts  have  not  been  spared,  during  my  ad 
ministration  of  the  government,  to  restore  the  constitu 
tional  currency  of  gold  and  silver ;  and  something,  I  trust, 
has  been  done  towards  the  accomplishment  of  this  most 
desirable  object.  But  enough  yet  remains  to  require  all 
your  energy  and  perseverance.  The  power,  however,  is 
in  your  hands,  and  the  remedy  must  and  will  be  applied 
if  you  determine  upon  it. 

While  I  am  thus  endeavoring  to  press  upon  your  atten 
tion  the  principles  which  I  deem  of  vital  importance  to 
the  domestic  concerns  of  the  country,  I  ought  not  to  pass 
over  without  notice,  the  important  considerations  which 
should  govern  your  policy  towards  foreign  powers.  It  is 
unquestionably  our  true  interest  to  cultivate  the  most 
friendly  understanding  with  every  nation,  and  to  avoid, 
by  every  honorable  means,  the  calamities  of  war;  and  we 
shall  best  attain  that  object  by  frankness  and  sincerity  in 
our  foreign  intercourse,  by  the  prompt  and  faithful  exe 
cution  of  treaties,  and  by  justice  and  impartiality  in  our 
conduct  to  all.  But  no  nation,  however  desirous  of  peace, 
can  hope  to  escape  collisions  with  other  powers ;  and 
the  soundest  dictates  of  policy  require  that  we  should 
place  ourselves  in  a  condition  to  assert  our  rights,  if  a 
resort  to  force  should  ever  become  necessary.  Our  local 
situation,  our  long  line  of  sea-coast,  indented  by  nume 
rous  bays,  with  deep  rivers  opening  into  the  interior,  as 
well  as  her  extended  and  still  increasing  commerce,  point 


170  THB  TRITE  REPUBLICAN 

to  the  navy  as  our  natural  means  of  defence.  It  will,  in 
the  end,  be  found  to  be  the  cheapest  and  most  effectual ; 
and  now  is  the  time,  in  a  season  of  peace,  and  with  an 
overflowing  revenue,  that  we  can  year  after  year  add  to 
its  strength,  without  increasing  the  burdens  of  the  peo 
ple.  It  is  your  true  policy.  For  your  navy  will  not  only 
protect  your  rich  and  flourishing  commerce  in  distant 
seas,  but  enable  you  to  reach  and  annoy  the  enemy,  and 
will  give  to  defence  its  greatest  efficiency,  by  meeting 
danger  at  a  distance  from  home.  It  is  impossible  by  any 
line  of  fortifications  to  guard  every  point  from  attack 
against  a  hostile  force  advancing  from  the  ocean,  and  se 
lecting  its  object ;  but  they  are  indispensable  to  prevent 
cities  from  bombardment ;  dock-yards  and  navy  arsenals 
from  destruction ;  to  give  shelter  to  merchant  vessels  in 
time  of  war,  and  to  single  ships  of  weaker  squadrons 
when  pressed  by  superior  force.  Fortifications  of  this 
description  cannot  be  too  soon  completed  and  armed,  and 
placed  in  a  condition  of  the  most  perfect  preparation. 
The  abundant  means  we  now  possess  cannot  be  applied 
in  any  manner  more  useful  to  the  country  ;  and  when  this 
is  done,  and  our  naval  force  sufficiently  strengthened,  and 
our  military  armed,  we  need  not  fear  that  any  nation  will 
wantonly  insult  us,  or  needlessly  provoke  hostilities.  We 
shall  more  certainly  preserve  peace,  when  it  is  well  un 
derstood  that  we  are  prepared  for  war. 

In  presenting  to  you,  my  fellow-citizens,  these  parting 
counsels,  I  have  brought  before  you  the  leading  principles 
upon  which  I  endeavored  to  administer  the  government 
in  the  high  office  with  which  you  twice  honored  me. 
Knowing  that  the  path  of  freedom  is  continually  beset  by 
enemies,  who  often  assume  the  disguise  of  friends,  1  have 
devoted  the  last  hours  of  my  public  life  to  warn  you  of 
the  dangers.  The  progress  of  the  United  States,  under 
our  free  and  happy  institutions,  has  surpassed  the  most 
sanguine  hopes  of  the  founders  of  the  republic.  Our 
growth  has  been  rapid  beyond  all  former  example,  in 
numbers,  in  wealth,  in  knowledge,  and  all  the  useful  arts 
which  contribute  to  the  comforts  and  convenience  of  man; 
and  from  the  earliest  ages  of  history  to  the  present  day, 
there  never  have  been  thirteen  millions  of  people  asso 


JACKSON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS.  177 

ciated  together  in  one  political  body,  who  enjoyed  so 
much  freedom  and  happiness  as  the  people  of  these  United 
States.  You  have  no  longer  any  cause  to  fear  danger 
from  abroad  ;  your  strength  and  power  are  well  known 
throughout  the  civilized  world,  as  well  as  the  high  and 
gallant  bearing  of  your  sons.  It  is  from  within,  among 
yourselves,  from  cupidity,  from  corruption,  from  disap 
pointed  ambition,  and  inordinate  thirst  for  power,  that 
factions  will  be  formed  and  liberty  endangered.  It  is 
against  such  designs,  whatever  disguise  the  actors  may 
assume,  that  you  have  especially  to  guard  yourselves. 
You  have  the  highest  of  human  trusts  committed  to  your 
care.  Providence  has  showered  on  this  favored  land 
blessings  without  number,  and  has  chosen  yon,  as  the 
guardians  of  freedom,  to  preserve  it  for  the  benefit  of  the 
human  race.  May  He,  who  holds  in  his  hands  the  desti 
nies  of  nations,  make  you  worthy  of  the  favors  he  has 
bestowed,  and  enable  you,  with  pure  hearts,  and  pure 
hands,  and  sleepless  vigilance,  to  guard  and  defend  to  the 
end  of  time  the  great  charge  he  has  committed  to  your 
keeping. 

My  own  race  is  nearly  run  ;  advanced  age  and  failing 
health  warn  me  that  before  long  I  must  pass  beyond  the 
reach  of  human  events,  and  cease  to  feel  the  vicissitudes 
of  human  affairs.  I  thank  God  that  my  life  has  been 
spent  in  a  land  of  liberty,  and  that  he  has  given  me  a 
heart  to  love  my  country  with  the  affection  of  a  son.  And 
filled  with  gratitude  for  your  constant  and  unwavering 
kindness,  I  bid  you  a  last  and  affectionate  farewell. 


17S  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN 

VAN  BUREN'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS, 
MARCH  4,  1837. 

Fellow-Citizens : 

The  practice  of  all  my  predecessors  imposes  on  me  an 
obligation  I  cheerfully  fulfil,  to  accompany  the  first  and 
solemn  act  of  my  public  trust  with  an  avowal  of  the  prin 
ciples  that  will  guide  me  in  performing  it,  and  an  expres 
sion  of  my  feelings  on  assuming  a  charge  so  responsible 
and  vast.  In  imitating  their  example,  I  trend  in  the  foot 
steps  of  illustrious  men,  whose  superiors  it  is  our  happi 
ness  to  believe  are  not  found  on  the  executive  calendar  of 
any  country.  Among  them  we  recognize  the  earliest  and 
firmest  pillars  of  the  republic;  those  by  whom  our  na 
tional  independence  was  first  declared  ;  him  who,  above 
all  others,  contributed  to  establish  it  on  the  field  of  battle; 
and  those  whose  expanded  intellect  and  patriotism  con 
structed,  improved  and  perfected  the  inestimable  institu 
tions  under  which  we  live.  If  such  men,  in  the  position 
I  now  occupy,  felt  themselves  overwhelmed  by  a  sense 
of  gratitude  for  this,  the  highest  of  all  marks  of  their 
country's  confidence,  and  by  a  consciousness  of  their  in 
ability  adequately  to  discharge  the  duties  of  an  office  so 
difficult  an'l  exalted,  how  much  more  must  these  conside 
rations  affect  one,  who  can  rely  on  no  such  claim  for  fa 
vor  or  forbearance.  Unlike  all  who  have  preceded  me, 
the  revolution  that  gave  us  existence  as  one  people,  was 
achieved  at  the  period  of  my  birth  ;  and  whilst  I  contem 
plate,  with  grateful  reverence,  that  memorable  event,  I 
feel  that  I  belong  to  a  later  age,  and  that  I  may  not  ex 
pect  my  countrymen  to  weigh  my  actions  with  the  same 
kind  and  partial  hand. 

So  sensibly,  fellow-citizens,  do  these  circumstances 
press  themselves  upon  me,  that  I  should  not  dare  to  en 
ter  upon  my  path  of  duty,  did  I  not  look  for  the  gene 
rous  aid  of  those  who  will  be  associated  with  me  in  the 
various  and  co-ordinate  branches  of  the  government  ;  did 
I  not  repose  with  unwavering  reliance  on  the  patriotism, 
the  intelligence  and  the  kindness  of  a  people  who  nevei 


mN  EOJKEWo 


VAN  BUREN'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  17& 

yet  deserted  a  public  servant  honestly  laboring  in  their 
cause ;  and,  above  all,  did  I  not  permit  myself  humbly  to 
hope  for  the  sustaining  support  of  an  ever-watchful  and 
beneficent  Providence. 

To  the  confidence  and  consolation  derived  from  these 
sources,  it  would  be  ungrateful  not  to  add  those  which 
spring  from  our  present  fortunate  condition.  Though 
not  altogether  exempt  from  embarrassments  that  disturb 
our  tranquillity  at  home  and  threaten  it  abroad,  yet,  in  all 
ihe  attributes  of  a  great,  happy,  and  flourishing  people, 
we  stand  without  a  parallel  in  the  world.  Abroad,  we 
enjoy  the  respect,  and,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  tho 
friendship  of  every  nation  ;  at  home,  while  our  govern 
ment  quietly,  but  efficiently  performs  the  sole  legitimate 
end  of  political  institutions,  in  doing  the  greatest  good  to 
the  greatest  number,  we  present  an  aggregate  of  human 
prosperity  surely  not  elsewhere  to  be  found. 

How  imperious,  then,  is  the  obligation  imposed  upon 
every  citizen,  in  his  own  sphere  of  action,  whether  limit 
ed  or  extended,  to  exert  himself  in  perpetuating  a  condi 
tion  of  things  so  singularly  happy.  All  the  lessons  of 
history  and  experience  must  be  lost  upon  us,  if  we  are 
content  to  trust  alone  to  the  peculiar  advantages  we  hap 
pen  to  possess.  Position  and  climate,  and  the  bounteous 
resources  that  nature  has  scattered  with  so  liberal  a 
hand — even  the  diffused  intelligence  and  elevated  cha 
racter  of  our  people — will  avail  us  nothing,  if  we  fail 
sacredly  to  uphold  those  political  institutions  that  were 
wisely  and  deliberately  formed,  with  reference  to  every 
circumstance  that  could  preserve,  or  might  endanger  the 
blessings  we  enjoy.  The  thoughtful  framers  of  our  con 
stitution  legislated  for  our  country  as  they  found  it.  Look 
ing  upon  it  with  the  eyes  of  statesmen  and  of  patriots, 
they  saw  all  the  sources  of  rapid  and  wonderful  prospe 
rity ;  but  they  saw,  also,  that  various  habits,  opinions,  and 
institutions,  peculiar  to  the  various  portions  of  so  vast  a 
region,  were  deeply  fixed.  D.istinct  sovereignties  were 
in  actual  existence,  whose  cordial  union  was  essential  to 
the  welfare  and  happiness  of  all.  Between  many  of  them 
there  was,  at  least  to  some  extent,  a  real  diversity  of  in 
terests,  liable  to  be  exaggerated  through  sinister  designs ; 


180  THE   TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

they  differed  in  size,  in  population,  in  wealth,  and  in  actual 
and  prospective  resources  and  power ;  they  varied  in  the 
character  of  their  industry  and  staple  productions ;  and 
in  some  existed  domestic  institutions,  which,  unwisely 
disturbed,  might  endanger  the  harmony  of  the  whole 
Most  carefully  were  all  these  circumstances  weighed,  and 
the  foundation  of  the  government  laid  upon  principles  of 
mutual  concession  and  equitable  compromise.  The  jea 
lousies  which  the  smaller  states  might  entertain  of  the 
power  of  the  rest,  were  allayed  by  a  rule  of  representation, 
confessedly  unequal  at  the  time,  and  designed  forever  to 
remain  so.  A  natural  fear  that  the  broad  scope  of  gene 
ral  legislation  might  bear  upon  and  unwisely  control  par 
ticular  interests,  was  counteracted  by  limits  strictly  drawn 
around  the  action  of  the  federal  authority;  and  to  the 
people  and  the  states  was  left  unimpaired  their  sovereign 
power  over  the  innumerable  subjects  embraced  in  the 
internal  government  of  a  just  republic,  excepting  such 
only  as  necessarily  appertain  to  the  concerns  of  the  whole 
confederacy,  or  its  intercourse,  as  a  united  community, 
with  the  other  nations  of  the  world. 

This  provident  forecast  has  been  verified  by  time. 
Half  a  century,  teeming  with  extraordinary  events,  and 
elsewhere  producing  astonishing  results,  has  passed  along; 
but  on  our  institutions  it  has  left  no  injurious  mark.  From 
a  small  community,  we  have  risen  to  a  people  powerful 
in  numbers  and  in  strength ;  but  with  our  increase  has 
gone  hand  in  hand  the  progress  of  just  principle ;  the 
privileges,  civil  and  religious,  of  the  humblest  individual 
are  sacredly  protected  at  home :  and  while  the  valor  and 
fortitude  of  our  people  have  removed  far  from  us  the 
slightest  apprehension  of  foreign  power,  they  have  not 
yet  induced  us,  in  a  single  instance,  to  forget  what  is 
right.  Our  commerce  has  been  extended  to  the  remotest 
nations ;  the  value,  and  even  nature  of  the  productions 
has  been  greatly  changed;  a  wide  difference  has  arisen 
in  the  relative  wealth  and  resources  of  every  portion  of 
our  country ;  yet  the  spirit  of  mutual  regard  and  of  faith 
ful  adherence  to  existing  compacts,  has  continued  to 
prevail  in  our  councils,  and  never  long  been  absent  from 
our  conduct.  We  have  learned  by  experience  a  fruitful 


VAN  BUREN'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  181 

lesson;  that  an  implicit  and  undeviating  adherence  to 
the  principles  on  which  we  set  out  can  carry  us  prosper 
ously  onward  through  all  the  conflicts  of  circumstances, 
and  the  vicissitudes  inseparable  from  the  lapse  of 'years. 
The  success  that  has  thus  attended  our  great  experi 
ment,  is,  in  itself,  sufficient  cause  for  gratitude,  on  ac 
count  of  the  happiness  it  has  actually  conferred,  and  the 
example  it  has  unanswerably  given.  But  to  me,  my  fel 
low-citizens,  looking  forward  to  the  far  distant  future, 
with  ardent  prayers  and  confiding  hopes,  this  retrospect 
presents  a  ground  for  still  deeper  delight.  It  impresses 
on  my  mind  a  firm  belief  that  the  perpetuity  of  our  in 
stitutions  depends  upon  themselves;  that,  if  we  maintain  the 
principles  on  which  they  were  established,  they  are  des 
tined  to  confer  their  benefits  on  countless  generations  yet 
to  come;  and  that  America  will  present  to  every  friend  of 
mankind  the  cheering  proof,  that  a  popular  government, 
wisely  formed,  is  wanting  in  no  element  of  endurance  or 
strength.  Fifty  years  ago  its  rapid  failure  was  predicted. 
Latent  and  uncontrollable  causes  of  dissolution  were  sup 
posed  to  exist,  even  by  the  wise  and  good ;  and  not  only 
did  unfriendly  or  speculative  theorists  anticipate  forus  the 
fate  of  past  republics,  but  the  fear  of  many  an  honest  patriot 
overbalanced  his  sanguine  hopes.  Look  back  on  these 
forebodings,  not  hastily,  but  reluctantly  made,  and  see 
how,  in  every  instance,  they  have  completely  failed. 

An  imperfect  experience,  during  the  struggles  of  the  re 
volution,  was  supposed  to  warrant  a  belief  that  the  peo 
ple  would  not  bear  the  taxation  requisite  to  the  discharge 
of  an  immense  public  debt  already  incurred,  and  to  de 
fray  the  necessary  expenses  of  government.  The  costof 
two  wars  has  been  paid,  not  only  without  a  murmur,  but 
with  unequalled  alacrity.  No  one  is  now  left  to  doubt 
that  every  burden  will  be  cheerfully  borne  that  may  be  ne 
cessary  to  sustain  our  civil  institutions,  or  guard  our  ho 
nor  or  our  welfare.  Indeed,  all  experience  has  shown 
that  the  willingness  of  the  people  to  contribute  to  these 
ends,  in  cases  of  emergency,  has  uniformly  outrun  the 
confidence  of  their  representatives. 

In  the  early  stages  of  the  new  government,  when  all 
felt  the  imposing  influence,  as  they  recognized  the  une- 
16 


182  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

quailed  services  of  the  first  President,  it  was  a  common 
sentiment,  that  the  great  weight  of  his  character  coiiid 
alone  bind  the  discordant  materials  of  our  government  to 
gether,  and  save  us  from  the  violence  of  contending  fac 
tions.  Since  his  death,  nearly  forty  years  are  gone. 
Party  exasperation  has  been  often  carried  to  its  highest 
point;  the  virtue  and  fortitude  of  the  people  have  some 
times  been  greatly  tried;  yet  our  system,  purified  and  en 
hanced  in  value  by  all  it  has  encountered,  still  preserves 
its  spirit  of  free  and  fearless  discussion,  blended  with  un 
impaired  fraternal  feeling. 

The  capacity  of  the  people  for  self-government,  and 
their  willingness  from  a  high  sense  of  duty,  and  without 
those  exhibitions  of  coercive  power  so  generally  employ 
ed  in  other  countries,  to  submit  to  all  needful  restraints 
and  exactions  of  the  municipal  law,  have  also  been  favor 
ably  exemplified  in  the  history  of  the  American  states. 
Occasionally  it  is  true,  the  ardor  of  public  sentiment,  out 
running  the  regular  process  of  the  judicial  tribunals,  or 
seeking  to  reach  cases  not  denounced  as  criminal  by  the 
existing  law,  has  displayed  itself  in  a  manner  calculated  to 
give  pain  to  the  friends  of  free  government,  and  to  en 
courage  the  hopes  of  those  who  wish  for  its  overthrow. 
These  occurrences,  however,  have  been  less  frequent  in 
our  country  than  any  other  of  equal  population  on  the 
globe  ;  and  with  the  diffusion  of  intelligence,  it  may  well 
be  hoped  that  they  will  constantly  diminish  in  frequency 
and  violence.  The  generous  patriotism  and  sound  com 
mon  sense  of  the  great  mass  of  our  fellow-citizens,  will 
assuredly,  in  time,  produce  this  result ;  for  as  every  as 
sumption  of  illegal  power  not  only  wounds  the  majesty 
of  the  law,  but  furnishes  a  pretext  for  abridging  the  liber 
ties  of  the  people,  the  latter  have  the  most  direct  and  per 
manent  interest  in  preserving  the  great  landmarks  of  so 
cial  order,  and  maintaining,  on  all  occasions,  the  inviola 
bility  of  those  constitutional  and  legal  provisions  which 
they  themselves  have  made. 

In  a  supposed  unfitness  of  our  institutions  for  those 
hostile  emergencies  which  no  country  can  always  avoid, 
their  friends  found  a  fruitful  source  of  apprehension, 


VAX  BLRdtf  ft  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  183 

their  enemies  of  hope.  While  they  forsaw  less  prompt 
ness  of  action  than  in  governments  differently  formed, 
they  overlooked  the  far  more  important  considerations, 
that  with  us  war  could  never  be  the  result  of  individual 
or  irresponsible  will,  but  must  be  a  measure  of  redress  for 
injuries  sustained,  voluntarily  resorted  to  by  those  who 
were  to  bear  the  necessary  sacrifice,  who  would  conse 
quently  feel  an  individual  interest  in  the  contest,  and 
whose  energy  would  be  commensurate  with  the  difficul 
ties  to  be  encountered.  Actual  events  have  proved  their 
error  :  the  last  war,  far  from  impairing,  gave  new  confi 
dence  to  our  government ;  and  amid  recent  apprehensions 
of  a  similar  conflict,  we  saw  that  the  energies  of  our 
country  would  not  be  wanting  in  ample  season  to  vindi 
cate  its  rights.  We  may  not  possess,  as  we  should  not 
desire  to  possess,  the  extended  and  ever  ready  military 
organization  of  other  nations  ;  we  may  occasionally  suf 
fer  in  the  outset  for  the  want  of  it,  but,  among  ourselves, 
all  doubt  upon  this  great  point  has  ceased,  while  a  salu 
tary  experience  will  prevent  a  contrary  opinion  from  in 
viting  aggression  from  abroad. 

Certain  danger  was  foretold  from  the  extension  of  our 
territory,  the  multiplication  of  states,  and  the  increase  of 
population.  Our  system  was  supposed  to  be  adapted  on 
ly  to  boundaries  comparatively  narrow.  These  have  been 
widened  beyond  conjecture  ;  the  members  of  our  confed 
eracy  are  already  doubled ;  and  the  numbers  of  our  peo 
ple  are  incredibly  augmented.  The  alleged  causes  of 
danger  have  long  surpassed  anticipation,  but  none  of  the 
consequences  have  followed.  The  power  and  influence 
of  the  republic  have  risen  to  a  height  obvious  to  all  man 
kind  ;  respect  for  its  authority  was  not  more  apparent  at 
its  ancient  than  it  is  at  its  present  limits ;  new  and  inex 
haustible  sources  of  general  prosperity  have  been  opened; 
the  effects  of  distance  have  been  averted  by  the  inventive 
genius  of  our  people,  developed  and  fostered  by  the  spirit 
of  our  institutions  ;  and  the  large  variety  and  amount  of 
interests,  productions,  and  pursuits,  have  strengthened  the 
chain  of  mutual  dependence,  and  formed  a  circle  of 
mutual  benefits,  too  apparent  ever  to  be  overlooked. 


181  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

In  justly  balancing  the  powers  of  the  federal  and  state, 
authorities,  difficulties  nearly  insurmouniable  arose  at  the 
outset,  and  subsequent  collisions  were  deemed  inevitable. 
Amid  these,  it  was  scarcely  believed  possible  that  a 
scheme  of  government  so  complex  in  construction,  could 
remain  uninjured.  From  time  to  time,  embarrassments 
have  certainly  occurred  ;  but  how  just  is  the  confidence 
of  future  safety  imparted  by  the  knowledge  that  each  in 
succession  has  been  happily  removed.  Overlooking  par 
tial  and  temporary  evils  as  inseparable  from  the  practical 
operation  of  all  human  institutions,  and  looking  only  to 
the  general  result,  every  patriot  has  reason  to  be  satisfied. 
While  the  federal  government  has  successfully  performed 
its  appropriate  functions  in  relation  to  foreign  affairs,  and 
concerns  evidently  national,  that  of  every  state  has  re 
markably  improved  in  protecting  and  developing  local 
interests  and  individual  welfare ;  and  if  the  vibrations  of 
authority  have  occasionally  tended  too  much  towards  one 
or  other,  it  is  unquestionably  certain  that  the  ultimate 
operation  of  the  entire  system  has  been  to  strengthen  all 
the  existing  institutions,  and  to  elevate  our  whole  country 
in  prosperity  and  renown. 

The  last,  perhaps  the  greatest,  of  the  prominent 
sources  of  discord  and  disaster  supposed  to  lurk  in  our 
political  condition,  was  the  institution  of  domestic  slavery. 
Our  forefathers  were  deeply  impressed  with  the  delicacy 
of  this  subject,  and  they  treated  it  with  a  forbearance  so 
evidently  wise,  that,  in  spite  of  every  sinister  foreboding, 
it  never,  until  the  present  period,  disturbed  the  tranquillity 
of  our  common  country.  Such  a  result  is  sufficient 
evidence  of  the  justice  and  the  patriotism  of  their  course  ; 
it  is  evident  not  to  be  mistaken,  that  an  adherence  to  it 
can  prevent  all  embarrassment  from  this,  as  well  as  every 
other  anticipated  cause  of  difficulty  or  danger.  Have 
not  recent  events  made  it  obvious  to  the  slightest  reflec 
tion,  that  the  least  deviation  from  this  spirit  of  forbearance 
is  injurious  to  every  interest,  that  of  humanity  included? 

Amidst  the  violence  of  excited  passions,  this  generous 
and  fraternal  feeling  has  been  sometimes  disregarded  ;  and 
standing  as  I  now  do  before  my  countrymen,  in  this  high 
place  of  honor  and  trust,  I  cannot  refrain  from  anxiously 
invoking  my  fellow-citizens  never  to  be  deaf  to  its  die- 


VAN  BUREN'd  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.         185 

tales.  Perceiving,  before  my  election,  the  deep  interest 
this  subject  was  beginning  to  excite,  I  believed  it  a  so 
lemn  duty  fully  to  make  known  my  sentiments  in  regard 
to  it ;  and  now,  when  every  motive  for  misrepresentation 
has  passed  away,  I  trust  that  they  will  be  candidly  weigh 
ed  and  understood.  At  least  they  will  be  my  standard  of 
conduct  in  the  path  before  me.  I  then  declared  that,  if 
the  desire  of  those  of  my  countrymen  who  were  favorable 
to  my  election  was  gratified,  "I  must  go  into  the  presi 
dential  chair  the  inflexible  and  uncompromising  opponent 
of  every  attempt,  on  the  part  of  Congress,  to  abolish  sla 
very  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  against  the  wishes  of 
the  slaveholding  states ;  and  also  with  a  determination 
equally  decided  to  resist  the  slightest  interference  with  it 
in  the  states  where  it  exists."  I  submitted  also  to  my  fel 
low-citizens,  with  fulness  and  frankness,  the  reasons  which 
led  me  to  this  determination.  The  result  authorizes  me 
to  believe  that  they  have  been  approved,  and  are  confided 
in  by  a  majority  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in 
cluding  those  whom  they  most  immediately  affect.  It 
now  only  remains  to  add,  that  no  bill  conflicting  with 
these  views  can  ever  receive  my  constitutional  sanction. 
These  opinions  have  been  adopted  in  the  firm  belief  that 
they  are  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  that  actuated  the 
venerated  fathers  of  the  republic,  and  that  succeeding  ex 
perience  has  proved  them  to  be  humane,  patriotic,  expe 
dient,  honorable  and  just.  If  the  agitation  of  this  subject 
was  intended  to  reach  the  stability  of  our  institutions, 
enough  has  occurred  to  show  that  it  has  signally  failed; 
and  that  in  this,  as  in  every  other  instance,  the  apprehenr 
sions  of  the  timid  and  the  hopes  of  the  wicked  for  the 
destruction  of  our  government,  are  again  destined  to  be 
disappointed.  Here  and  there,  indeed,  scenes  of  dan 
gerous  excitement  have  occurred ;  terrifying  instances  of 
local  violence  have  been  witnessed ;  and  a  reckless  disre 
gard  of  the  consequences  of  their  conduct  has  exposed 
individuals  to  popular  indignation ;  but  neither  masses  of 
the  people  nor  sections  of  country  have  swerved  from 
their  devotion  to  the  bond  of  union,  and  the  principles  it 
has  made  sacred.  It  will  be  ever  thus.  Such  attempts 
at  agitation  may  periodically  return,  but  with  each  the 
16* 


186  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN'. 

object  will  be  better  understood.  That  predominating 
affection  for  our  political  system  which  prevails  through 
out  our  territorial  limits;  that  calm  and  enlightened  judg 
ment  which  ultimately  governs  our  people  as  one  vast 
body,  will  always  be  at  hand  to  resist  and  control  every 
effort,  foreign  or  domestic,  which  aims  or  would  lead  to 
overthrow  our  institutions. 

What  can  be  more  gratifying  than  such  a  retrospect  as 
this?  We  look  back  on  obstacles  avoided  and  dangers 
overcome;  on  expectations  more  than  realized,  and  pros 
perity  perfectly  secured.  To  the  hopes  of  the  hostile, 
the  fears  of  the  timid,  and  the  doubts  of  the  anxious, 
actual  experience  has  given  the  conclusive  reply.  We 
have  seen  time  gradually  dispel  every  unfavorable  fore 
boding,  and  our  constitution  surmount  every  adverse  cir 
cumstance,  dreaded  at  the  outset  as  beyond  control.  Pre 
sent  excitement  will,  at  all  times,  magnify  present  dangers  ; 
but  true  philosophy  must  teach  us  that  none  more  threat 
ening  than  the  past  can  remain  to  be  overcome;  and  we 
ought,  for  we  have  just  reason,  to  entertain  an  abiding 
confidence  in  the  stability  of  our  institutions,  and  an 
entire  conviction  that  if  administered  in  the  true  form, 
character  and  spirit  in  which  they  were  established,  they 
are  abundantly  adequate  to  preserve  to  us  and  our  children 
the  rich  blessings  already  derived  from  them ;  to  make  our 
beloved  land,  for  a  thousand  generations,  that  chosen  spot 
where  happiness  springs  from  a  perfect  equality  of  politi 
cal  rights. 

For  myself,  therefore,  I  desire  to  declare,  that  the  prin 
ciple  that  will  govern  me  in  the  high  duty  to  which  my 
country  calls  me,  is  a  strict  adherence  to  the  letter  and 
spirit  of  the  constitution,  as  it  was  designed  by  those  who 
framed  it.  Looking  back  to  it  as  a  sacred  instrument, 
carefully  and  not  easily  framed ;  remembering  that  it  was 
throughout  a  work  of  concession  and  compromise,  view 
ing  it  as  limited  to  national  objects  ;  regarding  *t  as  leav 
ing  to  the  people  and  the  states  all  power  not  explicitly 
parted  with,  I  shall  endeavor  to  preserve,  protect  and  de 
fend  it,  by  anxiously  referring  to  its  provisions  for  direc 
tion  in  every  action.  To  matters  of  domestic  concern 
ment  which  it  has  entrusted  to  the  federal  government, 


VAN  BUREN'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  18? 

and  to  such  as  relate  to  our  intercourse  with  foreign  na 
tions,  I  shall  zealously  devote  myself;  beyond  those  lim 
its  I  shall  never  pass. 

To  enter,  on  this  occasion,  into  a  further  or  more  mi 
nute  exposition  of  my  views  on  the  various  questions  of 
domestic  policy,  would  be  as  obtrusive  as  it  is  probably 
unexpected.  Before  the  suffrages  of  my  countrymen  were 
conferred  upon  me,  I  submitted  to  them,  with  great  pre 
cision,  my  opinions  on  all  the  most  prominent  of  these 
subjects.  Those  opinions  I  shall  endeavor  to  carry  out 
with  the  utmost  ability. 

Our  course  of  foreign  policy  has  been  so  uniform  and 
intelligible,  as  to  constitute  a  rule  of  executive  conduct 
which  leaves  little  to  my  discretion,  unless,  indeed,!  were 
willing  to  run  counter  to  the  lights  of  experience,  and  the 
known  opinions  of  my  constituents.  We  sedulously 
cultivate  the  friendship  of  all  nations,  as  the  condition 
most  compatible  with  our  welfare,  and  the  principles  of 
our  government.  We  decline  alliances,  as  adverse  to  our 
peace.  We  desire  commercial  relations  on  equal  terms, 
being  ever  willing  to  give  a  fair  equivalent  for  advantages 
received.  We  endeavor  to  conduct  our  intercourse  with 
openness  and  sincerity  ;  promptly  avowing  our  objects, 
and  seeking  to  establish  that  mutual  frankness  which  is 
as  beneficial  in  the  dealings  of  nations  as  of  men.  We 
have  no  disposition,  and  we  disclaim  all  right  to  meddle 
in  disputes  whether  internal  or  foreign,  that  may  molest 
other  countries ;  regarding  them  in  their  actual  state,  as 
social  communities,  and  preserving  a  strict  neutrality  in 
all  their  controversies.  Well  knowing  the  tried  valor  of 
our  people,  and  our  exhaustless  resources,  we  neither  an 
ticipate  nor  fear  any  designed  aggression  ;  and  in  the  con 
sciousness  of  our  own  just  conduct,  we  feel  a  security  that 
we  shall  never  be  called  upon  to  exert  our  determination, 
never  to  permit  an  invasion  of  our  rights,  without  punish 
ment  or  redress. 

In  approaching,  then,  in  the  presence  of  my  assembled 
countrymen,  to  make  the  solemn  promise  thatyet  remains, 
and  to  pledge  myself  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the  of- 
foe  I  am  about  to  fill,  I  bring  with  me  a  settled  purpose 
to  maintain  the  institutions  of  my  country,  which,  I  trust, 
will  atone  for  the  errors  I  commit. 


138  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

in  receiving  from  the  people  the  sacred  trust  twice  con 
fided  to  my  illustrious  predecessor,  and  which  he  has  dis 
charged  so  faithfully  and  so  well,  Iknow  thatl  cannot  ex 
pect  to  perform  the  arduous  task  with  equal  ability  and 
success.  But,  united  as  I  have  been  in  his  counsels,  a 
daily  witness  of  his  exclusive  and  unsurpassed  devotion 
to  his  country's  welfare,  agreeing  with  him  in  sentiments 
which  his  countrymen  have  warmly  supported,  and  per 
mitted  to  partake  largely  of  his  confidence,  I  may  hope 
that  somewhat  of  the  same  cheering  approbation  will  be 
found  to  attend  upon  my  path.  For  him,  I  but  express, 
with  my  own,  the  wishes  of  all,  that  he  may  yet  long  live 
to  enjoy  the  brilliant  evening  of  his  well-spent  life,  and 
for  myself,  conscious  of  but  one  desire,  faithfully  to  serve 
my  country,  I  throw  myself,  without  fear,  on  its  justice 
and  kindness.  Beyond  that,  I  only  look  to  the  gracious 
protection  of  that  Divine  Being  whose  strengthening  sup 
port  I  humbly  solicit,  and  whom  I  fervently  pray  to  look 
down  upon  us  all.  May  it  be  among  the  dispensations  of 
his  providence  to  bless  our  beloved  country  with  honors 
and  with  length  of  days  ;  may  her  ways  be  ways  of  plea 
santness,  and  all  her  paths  be  peace. 


VAN   BUREN'S    FIRST   ANNUAL  MESSAGE, 
DECEMBER  4,  1837. 

To  the  Senate, 

and  House  of  Representatives  : 

We  have  reason  to  renew  the  expression  of  our  devoa* 
gratitude  to  the  Giver  of  all  good  for  his  benign  protec 
tion.  Our  country  presents  on  every  side  the  evidences 
of  that  continued  favor  under  whose  auspices  it  has 
gradually  risen  from  a  few  feeble  and  dependent  colo 
nies  to  a  prosperous  and  powerful  confederacy.  We  are 
blessed  with  domestic  tranquillity  and  all  the  elements  of 
national  prosperity.  The  pestilence  which,  invading  for 

time  some  flourishing  portions  of  the  Union,  interrupted 


189 

the  general  prevalence  of  unusual  health,  has  happily 
been  limited  in  extent,  and  arrested  in  its  fatal  career. 
The  industry  and  prudence  of  our  citizens  are  gradually 
relieving  them  from  the  pecuniary  embarrassments  un 
der  which  portions  of  them  have  labored  ;  judicious  le 
gislation,  and  the  natural  and  boundless  resources  of  the 
country,  have  afforded  wise  and  timely  aid  to  private 
enterprise  ;  and  the  activity  always  characteristic  of  our 
people  has  already  in  a  great  degree  resumed  its  usual 
and  profitable  channels. 

The  condition  of  our  foreign  relations  has  not  mate 
rially  changed,  since  the  last  annual  message  of  my  pre 
decessor.  We  remain  in  peace  with  all  nations  ;  and  no 
efforts  on  my  part,  consistent  with  the  preservation  of  our 
rights  and  the  honor  of  our  country,  shall  be  spared  to 
maintain  a  position  so  consonant  to  our  institutions.  We 
have  faithfully  sustained  the  foreign  policy  with  which  the 
United  States,  under  the  guidance  of  their  first  President, 
took  their  stand  in  the  family  of  nations — that  of  regula 
ting  their  intercourse  with  other  powers  by  the  approved 
principles  of  private  life  ;  asking  and  according  equal 
rights  and  equal  privileges  ;  rendering  and  demanding 
justice  in  all  cases;  advancing  their  own  and  discussing 
the  pretensions  of  others,  with  candor,  directness  and  sin 
cerity  ;  appealing  at  all  times  to  reason,  but  never  yield 
ing  to  force,  nor  seeking  to  acquire  any  thing  for  them 
selves  by  its  exercise. 

A  rigid  adherence  to  this  policy  has  left  this  govern 
ment  with  scarcely  a  claim  upon  its  justice,  for  injuries 
arising  from  acts  committed  by  its  authority.  The  most 
imposing  and  perplexing  of  those  of  the  United  States 
upon  foreign  governments  for  aggressions  upon  our  citi 
zens,  were  disposed  of  by  my  predecessor.  Independent 
ly  of  the  benefits  conferred  upon  our  citizens  by  restoring 
to  the  mercantile  community  so  many  millions  of  which 
they  had  been  wrongfully  divested,  a  great  service  was  also 
rendered  to  his  country  by  the  satisfactory  adjustment  of 
so  many  ancient  and  irritating  subjects  of  contention ; 
and  it  reflects  no  ordinary  credit  on  his  successful  ad 
ministration  of  public  affairs,  that  this  great  object  was 
accomplished  without  compromising  on  any  occasion, 
cither  the  honor  or  the  peace  of  the  nation. 


190 


THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 


With  European  powers,  no  new  subjects  of  difficulty 
have  arisen ;  and  those  which  were  under  discussion,  al 
though  not  terminated,  do  not  present  a  more  unfavorable 
aspect  for  the  future  preservation  of  that  good  understand 
ing  which  it  has  ever  been  our  desire  to  cultivate. 

Of  pending  questions,  the  most  important  is  that  which 
exists  with  the  government  of  Great  Britain,  in  respect  to 
our  north-eastern  boundary.  It  is  with  unfeigned  regret 
that  the  people  of  the  United  States  must  look  back  upon 
the  abortive  efforts  made  by  the  executive,  for  a  period 
of  more  than  half  a  century,  to  determine,  what  no  nation 
should  suffer  long  to  remain  in  dispute,  the  true  line 
which  divides  its  possessions  from  those  of  other  powers. 
The  nature  of  the  settlement  on  the  borders  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  neighboring  territory,  was  for  a  season 
such,  that  this  perhaps  was  not  indispensable  to  a  faith 
ful  performance  of  the  duties  of  the  federal  government. 

Time  has,  however,  changed  this  state  of  things  ;  and 
has  brought  about  a  condition  of  affairs,  in  which  the 
true  interests  of  both  countries  imperatively  require  that 
this  question  should  be  put  at  rest.  It  is  not  to  be  dis 
guised,  that  with  full  confidence,  often  expressed,  in  the 
desire  of  the  British  government  to  terminate  it,  we  are 
apparently  as  far  from  its  adjustment  as  we  were  at  the 
time  of  signing  the  treaty  of  peace  in  1783.  The  sole 
result  of  long-pending  negotiations,  and  a  perplexing  ar 
bitration,  appears  to  be  a  conviction,  on  its  part,  that  a 
conventional  line  must  be  adopted,  from  the  impossibility 
of  ascertaining  the  true  one  according  to  the  description 
contained  in  that  treaty.  Without  coinciding  in  this  opi 
nion,  which  is  not  thought  to  be  well  founded,  my  pre 
decessor  gave  the  strongest  proof  of  the  earnest  desire  of 
the  United  States  to  terminate  satisfactorily  this  dispute, 
by  proposing  the  substitution  of  a  conventional  line,  if  the 
consent  of  the  states  interested  in  the  question  could  be 
obtained. 

To  this  proposition,  no  answer  has  yet  been  received. 
The  attention  of  the  British  government,  however,  has 
been  earnestly  invited  to  the  subject,  and  its  reply  cannot, 
I  am  confident,  be  much  longer  delayed.  The  general 
relations  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  are 


VAN  BUREN'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  191 

of  the  most  friendly  character,  and  I  am  well  satisfied  of 
the  sincere  disposition  of  that  government  to  maintain 
them  upon  their  present  footing.  This  disposition  has 
also,  I  am  persuaded,  become  more  general  with  the  peo 
ple  of  England  than  at  any  previous  period.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  say  to  you,  how  cordially  it  is  reciprocated 
by  the  government  and  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
The  conviction  which  must  be  common  to  all,  of  the 
injurious  consequences  that  result  from  keeping  open 
this  irritating  question,  and  the  certainty  that  its  final 
settlement  cannot  be  much  longer  deferred,  will,  I  trust, 
lead  to  an  early  and  satisfactory  adjustment.  At  your 
last  session  I  laid  before  you  the  recent  communications 
between  the  two  governments  and  between  this  govern 
ment  and  that  of  the  state  of  Maine,  in  whose  solicitude, 
concerning  a  subject  in  which  she  has  so  deep  an  inte 
rest,  every  portion  of  the  Union  participates. 

The  feelings  produced  by  a  temporary  interruption  of 
those  harmonious  relations  between  France  and  the  United 
States,  which  are  due  as  well  to  the  recollections  of  for 
mer  times  as  to  a  correct  appreciation  of  existing  inte 
rests,  have  been  happily  succeeded  by  a  cordial  dispo 
sition  on  both  sides  to  cultivate  an  active  friendship  in 
their  future  intercourse.  The  opinion,  undoubtedly  cor 
rect,  and  steadily  entertained  by  us,  that  the  commercial 
relations  at  present  existing  between  the  two  countries, 
are  susceptible  of  great  and  reciprocally  beneficial  im 
provements,  is  obviously  gaining  ground  in  France ;  and 
I  am  assured  of  the  disposition  of  that  government  t^» 
favor  the  accomplishment  of  such  an  object.  This  dispo 
sition  shall  be  met  in  a  proper  spirit  on  our  part.  The 
few  and  comparatively  unimportant  questions  that  re 
main  to  be  adjusted  between  us,  can,  I  have  no  doubt,  be 
settled  with  entire  satisfaction,  and  without  difficulty. 

Between  Russia  and  the  United  States,  sentiments  of 
good-will  continue  to  be  mutually  cherished.  Our  mi 
nister  recently  accredited  to  that  court,  has  been  received 
with  a  frankness  and  cordiality,  and  with  evidences  of 
respect  for  his  country,  which  leaves  us  no  room  to  doubt 
the  preservation  in  future  of  those  amicable  and  liberal 
relations  which  have  so  long  and  so  uninterruptedly  ex 


192  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

isted  between  the  two  countries.  On  the  few  subjects 
under  discussion  between  us,  an  early  and  just  decision 
is  confidently  anticipated. 

A  correspondence  has  been  opened  with  the  govern 
ment  of  Austria,  for  the  establishment  of  diplomatic  rela 
tions,  in  conformity  with  the  wishes  of  Congress,  as  in 
dicated  by  an  appropriation  act  of  the  session  of  1837, 
and  arrangements  made  for  the  purpose,  which  will  be 
duly  carried  into  effect. 

With  Austria  and  Prussia,  and  with  the  states  of  the 
German  empire,  now  composing  with  the  latter  the  Com 
mercial  League,  our  political  relations  are  of  the  most 
friendly  character,  while  our  commercial  intercourse  is  gra 
dually  extending,  with  benefit  to  all  who  are  engaged  in  it. 

Civil  war  yet  rages  in  Spain,  producing  intense  suffer 
ing  to  its  own  people,  and  to  other  nations  inconvenience 
and  regret.  Our  citizens  who  have  claims  upon  that 
country  will  be  prejudiced  for  a  time  by  the  condition  of 
its  treasury,  the  inevitable  consequence  of  long-continued 
and  exhausting  internal  wars.  The  last  instalment  of  the 
interest  of  the  debt  due  under  the  convention  with  the 
queen  of  Spain  has  not  been  paid ;  and  similar  failures 
may  be  expected  to  happen  until  a  portion  of  the  resources 
of  her  kingdom  can  be  devoted  to  the  extinguishment  of 
its  foreign  debt. 

Having  received  satisfactory  evidence  that  discrimina 
ting  tonnage  duties  were  charged  upon  vessels  of  the  Uni 
ted  States  in  the  ports  of  Portugal,  a  proclamation  was 
issued  on  the  llth  day  of  October  last,  in  compliance 
with  the  act  of  May  25th,  1832,  declaring  that  fact,  and 
the  duties  on  foreign  tonnage,  which  were  levied  upon 
Portuguese  vessels  in  the  United  States,  previously  to  the 
passage  of  that  act,  are  accordingly  revived. 

The  act  of  July  4th,  1836,  suspending  the  discrimina 
ting  duties  upon  the  produce  of  Portugal  imported  into 
this  country  in  Portuguese  vessels,  was  passed,  upon  the 
application  of  that  government,  through  its  representa 
tives  here,  under  the  belief  that  no  similar  discrimination 
existed  in  Portugal  to  the  prejudice  of  the  United  States. 
I  regret  to  state  that  such  duties  are  now  exacted  in  that 


VAN  BUREN'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  193 

country,  upon  the  cargoes  of  American  vessels  ;  and  us 
the  act  referred  to,  vests  no  discretion  in  the  Executive,  it 
is  for  Congress  to  determine  upon  the  expediency  of  fur 
ther  legislation  upon  the  subject.  Against  these  discri 
minations,  affecting  the  vessels  of  this  country  and  their 
cargoes,  seasonable  remonstrance  was  made,  and  notice 
was  given  to  the  Portuguese  government,  that  unless  they 
should  be  discontinued,  the  adoption  of  countervailing 
measures  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  would  become 
necessary;  but  the  reply  of  that  government  received  at 
the  department  of  state  through  our  charge  d'affaires 
at  Lisbon,  in  the  month  of  September  last,  afforded  no 
ground  to  hope  for  the  abandonment  of  a  system,  so  little 
in  harmony  with  the  treatment  shown  to  the  vessels  of 
Portugal  and  their  cargoes,  in  the  ports  of  this  country, 
and  so  contrary  to  the  expectations  we  had  a  right  to 
entertain. 

With  Holland,  Sweden,  Denmark,  Naples,  and  Bel 
gium,  a  friendly  intercourse  has  been  uninterruptedly 
maintained. 

With  the  government  of  the  Ottoman  Porte,  and  its 
dependencies  on  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  peace 
•and  good-will  are  carefully  cultivated,  and  have  been  fos 
tered  by  such  good  offices  as  the  relative  distance  and  the 
condition  of  those  countries  would  permit. 

Our  commerce  with  Greece  is  carried  on  under  the 
laws  of  the  two  governments,  reciprocally  beneficial  to 
the  navigating  interests  of  both ;  and  I  have  reason  to 
look  forward  to  the  adoption  of  other  measures  which 
will  be  more  extensively  and  permanently  advantageous. 

Copies  of  the  treaties  concluded  with  the  governments 
of  Siam  and  Muscat  are  transmitted  for  the  information 
of  Congress,  the  ratifications  having  been  received,  and 
the  treaties  made  public,  since  the  close  of  the  last  an 
nual  session.  Already  have  we  reason  to  congratulate 
ourselves  on  the  prospect  of  considerable  commercial 
benefit;  and  we  have,  besides,  received  from  the  Sultan 
of  Muscat,  prompt  evidence  of  his  desire  to  cultivate  the 
most  friendly  feelings,  by  liberal  acts  towards  one  of  our 
vessels,  bestowed  in  a  manner  so  striking  as  to  require  on 
our  part  a  grateful  acknowledgment. 
17 


194  THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

Our  commerce  with  the  island  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico, 
still  labors  under  heavy  restriction,  the  continuance  of 
which  is  a  subject  of  regret.  The  only  effect  of  an  adherence 
to  them  will  be  to  benefit  the  navigation  of  other  coun 
tries,  at  the  expense  both  of  the  United  States  and  Spain. 

The  independent  nations  of  this  continent  have,  ever 
since  they  emerged  from  the  colonial  state,  experienced 
severe  trials  in  their  progress  to  the  permanent  establish 
ment  of  liberal  political  institutions.  Their  unsettled 
condition  not  only  interrupts  their  own  advances  to  pros 
perity,  but  has  often  seriously  injured  the  other  powers 
of  the  world.  The  claims  of  our  citizens  upon  Peru, 
Chili,  Brazil,  the  Argentine  Republic,  the  governments 
formed  out  of  the  republics  of  Colombia  and  Mexico, 
are  still  pending,  although  many  of  them  have  been  pre 
sented  for  examinations  more  than  twenty  years.  New 
Grenada,  Venezuela,  and  Ecuador,  have  recently  formed 
a  convention  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  and  adjusting 
the  claims  upon  the  republic  of  Colombia,  from  which  it 
is  earnestly  hoped  our  citizens  will,  ere  long,  receive  full 
compensation  for  theiujuries  originally  inflicted  upon  them, 
and  for  the  delay  in  affording  it. 

An  advantageous  treaty  of  commerce  has  been  concluded 
by  the  United  States  with  the  Peru-Bolivian  Confedera 
tion,  which  wants  only  the  ratification  of  that  government. 
The  progress  of  a  subsequent  negotiation  for  the  settle 
ment  of  claims  upon  Peru,  has  been  unfavorably  affected 
by  the  war  between  that  power  and  Chili,  and  the  Argen 
tine  Republic ;  and  the  same  event  is  likely  to  produce 
delays  in  the  settlement  of  our  demands  on  those  powers. 

The  aggravating  circumstances  connected  with  our 
claims  upon  Mexico,  and  a  variety  of  events  touching 
the  honor  and  integrity  of  our  government,  led  my  pre 
decessor  to  make,  at  the  second  session  of  the  last  Con 
gress,  a  special  recommendation  of  the  course  to  be  pur 
sued  to  obtain  a  speedy  and  final  satisfaction  of  the 
injuries  complained  of  by  this  government  and  by  oui 
citizens.  He  recommended  a  final  demand  of  redress  with 
a  contingent  authority  to  the  Executive  to  make  reprisals,  if 
that  demand  should  be  made  in  vain.  From  the  proceed 
ings  of  Congress  on  that  recommendation,  it  appeared 
that  the  opinion  of  both  branches  of  the  legislature  coin- 


VAN  BTIREN'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  105 

oided  with  that  of  the  Executive,  that  any  mode  of  re 
dress  known  to  the  law  of  nations  might  justifiably  be  used. 
It  was  obvious,  too,  that  Congress  believed,  with  the 
President,  that  another  demand  should  be  made,  in  order 
to  give  undeniable  and  satisfactory  proof  of  our  desire  to 
avoid  extremities  with  a  neighboring  power  ;  but  that 
there  was  an  indisposition  to  vest  a  discretionary  authori 
ty  in  the  Executive  to  take  redress,  should  it  unfortunate 
ly  be  either  denied  or  unreasonably  delayed  by  the  Mexi 
can  government. 

So  soon  as  the  necessary  documents  were  prepared,  af 
ter  entering  upon  the  duties  of  my  office,  a  special  mes 
senger  was  sent  to  Mexico,  to  make  a  final  demand  of  re 
dress,  with  the  documents  required  by  the  provisions  of 
our  treaty.  The  demand  was  made  on  the  20th  of  July 
last.  The  reply,  which  bears  date  the  29th  of  the  same 
month,  contains  assurances  of  a  desire,  on  the  part  of 
that  government,  to  give  a  prompt  and  explicit  answer  re 
specting  each  of  the  complaints,  but  that  the  examination 
of  them  would  necessarily  be  deliberate  ;  that  in  this  ex 
amination  it  would  be  guided  by  the  principles  of  public 
law  and  the  obligation  of  treaties  ;  that  nothing  should  be 
left  undone  that  might  lead  to  the  most  equitable  adjust 
ment  of  our  demands  ;  and  that  its  determination,  in  re 
spect  to  each  case,  should  be  communicated  through  the 
Mexican  minister  here. 

Since  that  time,  an  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister 
plenipotentiary  has  been  accredited  to  this  government 
by  that  of  the  Mexican  republic.  He  brought  with  him 
assurances  of  a  sincere  desire  that  the  pending  differences 
between  the  two  governments  should  be  terminated  in  a 
manner  satisfactory  to  both.  He  was  received  with  re 
ciprocal  assurances,  and  a  hope  was  entertained  that  his 
mission  would  lead  to  a  speedy,  satisfactory,  and  final  ad 
justment  of  all  existing  subjects  of  complaint.  A  sin 
cere  believer  in  the  wisdom  of  the  pacific  policy  by  which 
the  United  States  have  always  been  governed  in  their 
intercourse  with  foreign  nations,  it  was  my  particular 
desire,  from  the  proximity  of  the  Mexican  republic,  and 
well  known  occurrences  on  our  frontier,  to  be  instrumen 
tal  in  obviating  all  existing  difficulties  with  that  govern 
ment,  and  in  restoring  to  the  intercourse  between  the  two 


100  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

republics,  that  liberal  and  friendly  character  by  which 
they  should  always  be  distinguished.  I  regret,  therefore, 
the  more  deeply,  to  have  found  in  the  recent  communica 
tions  of  that  government,  so  little  reason  to  hope  that  any 
efforts  of  mine  for  the  accomplishment  of  those  desirable 
objects  would  be  successful. 

Although  the  larger  number,  and  many  of  them  aggra 
vated  cases  of  personal  wrongs  have  been  now  for  years 
before  the  Mexican  government,  and  some  of  the  causes 
of  national  complaint,  and  those  of  the  most  offensive  cha 
racter,  admitted  of  immediate,  simple  and  satisfactory  re 
plies,  it  is  only  within  a  few  days  past  that  any  specific 
communication  in  answer  to  our  last  demand,  made  five 
months  ago,  has  been  received  from  the  Mexican  minister. 
By  the  report  of  the  secretary  of  state,  herewith  presented, 
and  the  accompanying  documents,  it  will  be  seen,  that 
for  not  one  of  our  public  complaints  has  satisfaction  been 
given  or  offered  ;  that  but  one  of  the  causes  of  personal 
wrong  has  been  favorably  considered  ;  and  that  but  four 
cases  of  both  descriptions,  out  of  all  those  formally  pre 
sented,  and  earnestly  pressed,  have  as  yet  been  decided 
upon  by  the  Mexican  government. 

Not  perceiving  in  what  manner  any  of  the  powers 
given  to  the  Executive  alone,  could  be  further  usefully  em 
ployed  in  bringing  this  unfortunate  controversy  to  a  satis 
factory  termination,  the  subject  was,  by  my  predecessor, 
referred  to  Congress,  as  one  calling  for  its  interposition. 
In  accordance  with  the  clearly  understood  wishes  of  the 
legislature,  another  and  formal  demand  for  satisfaction  has 
been  made  upon  the  Mexican  government,  with  what  suc 
cess  the  documents  now  communicated  will  show.  On 
a  careful  and  deliberate  examination  of  their  contents,  and 
considering  the  spirit  manifested  by  the  Mexican  govern 
ment,  it  has  become  my  painful  duty  to  return  the  sub 
ject,  as  it  now  stands,  to  Congress,  to  whom  it  belongs 
to  decide  upon  the  time,  the  mode,  and  the  measures  of 
redress.  Whatever  may  be  your  decision,  it  shall  be 
faithfully  executed,  confident  that  it  will  be  characterized 
by  that  moderation  and  justice  which  will,  I  trust,  under 
all  circumstances,  govern  the  councils  of  our  country. 

The  balance  in  the  treasury  on  the  first  day  of  January, 
1837,  was  forty-five  millions  nine  hundred  and  sixty-eighl 


VAN  BUREN  3  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  197 

thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-three  dollars.  The 
receipts  during  the  present  year  from  all  sources,  inclu 
ding  the  amount  of  treasury  notes  issued,  are  estimated 
at  twenty-three  millions  four  hundred  and  ninety-nine 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  eighty-one  dollars,  constitu 
ting  an  aggregate  of  sixty-nine  millions  four  hundred  and 
sixty-eight  thousand  five  hundred  and  four  dollars.  Of 
this  amount,  about  thirty-five  millions  two  hundred  and 
eighty-one  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-one  dollars 
will  have  been  expended,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  on  appro 
priations  made  by  Congress  ;  and  the  residue,  amounting 
to  thirty-four  millions  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  thou 
sand  one  hundred  and  forty-three  dollars,  will  be  the 
nominal  balance  in  the  treasury  on  the  first  of  January  next. 
But  of  that  sum,  only  one  million  eighty-five  thousand  four 
hundred  and  ninety-eight  dollars  is  considered  as  imme 
diately  available  for,  and  applicable  to,  public  purposes. 

Those  portions  of  it  which  will  be  for  some  time  una 
vailable,  consist  chiefly  of  sums  deposited  with  the  states, 
and  due  from  the  former  deposit  banks.  The  details 
upon  this  subject  will  be  found  in  the  annual  report  of 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury.  The  amount  of  treasury 
notes  which  it  will  be  necessary  to  issue  during  the  year 
on  account  of  those  funds  being  unavailable,  will,  it  is 
supposed,  not  exceed  four  and  a  half  millions.  It  seemed 
proper  in  the  condition  of  the  country,  to  have  the  esti 
mates  on  all  subjects  made  as  low  as  practicable,  without 
prejudice  to  any  great  public  measures.  The  departments 
were,  therefore,  desired  to  prepare  their  estimates  accord 
ingly  ;  and  I  am  happy  to  find  that  they  have  been  able 
to  graduate  them  on  so  economical  a  scale. 

In  the  great  and  often  unexpected  fluctuations  to 
which  the  revenue  is  subjected,  it  is  not  possible  to  com 
pute  the  receipts  beforehand  with  great  certainty ;  but 
should  they  not  differ  essentially  from  present  anticipa 
tions,  and  should  the  appropriations  not  much  exceed  the 
estimates,  no  difficulty  seems  likely  to  happen  in  defray 
ing  the  current  expenses  with  promptitude  and  fidelity. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  embarrassments  which  have 
recently  occurred  in  commercial  affairs,  and  the  liberal 
indulgence  which,  in  consequence  of  those  embarrass- 
17* 


198  THE  TRUE  REPITB.MCAN*. 

meats,  has  been  extended  to  both  the  merchants  and  the 
banks,  it  is  gratifying1  to  be  able  to  anticipate  that  the 
treasury  notes,  which  have  been  issued  during  the  present 
year  will  be  redeemed,  and  that  the  resources  of  the  trea 
sury,  without  any  resort  to  loans  or  increased  taxes,  will 
prove  ample  for  defraying  all  charges  imposed  on  it  du 
ring  1838. 

The  report  of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  will  afford 
you  a  more  minute  exposition  of  all  matters  connected 
with  the  administration  of  the  finances  during  the  current 
year  ;  a  period  which,  for  the  amount  of  public  moneys 
disbursed  and  deposited  with  the  states,  as  well  as  the 
financial  difficulties  encountered  and  overcome,  has  few 
parallels  in  our  history. 

Your  attention  was,  at  the  last  session,  invited  to  the 
necessity  of  additional  legislative  provisions  in  respect 
to  the  collection,  safe-keeping,  and  transfer  of  the  public 
money.  No  law  having  been  then  matured,  and  not  un 
derstanding  the  proceedings  of  Congress  as  intended  to 
be  final,  it  becomes  my  duty  again  to  bring  the  subject  to 
your  notice. 

On  that  occasion,  three  modes  of  performing  this 
branch  of  the  public  service  were  presented  for  conside 
ration.  These  were,  the  creation  of  a  national  bank  ; 
the  revival,  with  modifications,  of  the  deposit  sys;em  esta 
blished  by  the  act  of  the  23d  June,  1836,  permitting  the 
use  of  the  public  moneys  by  the  banks  ;  and  the  discon 
tinuance  of  the  use  of  such  institutions  for  the  purposes 
referred  to,  with  suitable  provisions  for  their  accomplish 
ment  through  the  agency  of  public  officers.  Considering 
the  opinions  of  both  houses  of  Congress  on  the  two  first 
propositions  as  expressed  in  the  negative,  in  which  I  en 
tirely  concur,  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  again  to  recur  to  them. 
In  respect  to  the  last,  you  have  had  an  opportunity,  since 
your  adjournment,  not  only  to  test  still  further  the  expedi 
ency  of  the  measure,  by  the  continued  practical  operation 
of  such  parts  of  it  as  are  now  in  force,  but  also  to  discover 
— what  should  ever  be  sought  for  and  regarded  with  the 
utmost  deference — the  opinions  and  wishes  of  the  people. 

The  national  will  is  the  supreme  law  of  the  republic, 
and  on  all  subjects  within  the  limits  of  its  constitutional 


VAN  BURKN'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  199 

powers,  should  be  faithfully  obeyed  by  the  public  servant. 
{Since  the  measure  in  question  was  submitted  to  your  con 
sideration,  most  of  you  have  enjoyed  the  advantage  of 
personal  communication  with  your  constituents.  For  one 
state  only  has  an  election  been  held  for  the  federal  go 
vernment;  but  the  early  day  at  which  it  took  place,  de 
prives  the  measure  under  consideration  of  much  of  the 
support  it  might  otherwise  have  derived  from  the  result. 
Local  elections  for  state  officers  have,  however,  been  held 
in  several  of  the  states,  at  which  the  expediency  of  the 
plan  proposed  by  the  executive  has  been  more  or  less  dis- 
cusse.l.  You  will,  I  am  confident,  yield  to  their  results 
the  respect  due  to  every  expression  of  the  public  voice. 
Desiring,  however,  to  arrive  at  truth  and  a  just  view  of 
the  subject  in  all  its  bearings,  you  will  at  the  same  time 
remember,  that  questions  of  far  deeper  and  more  imme 
diate  local  interest  than  the  fiscal  plans  of  the  national 
treasury  were  involved  in  those  elections. 

Above  all,  we  cannot  overlook  the  striking  fact,  that 
there  were,  at  the  time,  in  those  states,  more  than  one 
hundred  and  sixty  millions  of  bank  capital,  of  which  large 
portions  were  subject  to  actual  forfeiture — other  large 
portions  upheld  only  by  special  and  limited  legislative 
indulgences — and  most  of  it,  if  not  all,  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent,  dependent  for  a  continuance  of  its  corporate 
existence  upon  the  will  of  the  state  legislatures  to  be  then 
chosen.  Apprised  of  this  circumstance,  you  will  judge 
whether  it  is  not  most  probable  that  the  peculiar  condi 
tion  of  that  vast  interest  in  these  respects,  the  extent  to 
which  it  has  been  spread  through  all  the  ramifications  of 
society,  its  direct  connection  with  the  then  pending  elec 
tions,  and  the  feelings  it  was  calculnted  to  infuse  into 
the  canvass,  have  not  exercised  a  far  greater  influence 
over  the  result  than  any  which  could  possibly  have  been 
produced  by  a  conflict  of  opinion  in  respect  to  a  ques 
tion  in  the  administration  of  the  general  government, 
more  remote  and  far  less  important  in  its  bearing  upon  that 
interest. 

I  have  found  no  reason  to  change  my  own  opinion  as  to 
the  expediency  of  adopting  the  system  proposed,  being  per 
fectly  satisfied  ihat  there  will  be  neither  stability  nor  safe- 


200  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

ty,  either  in  the  fiscal  affairs  of  the  government,  or  in  the 
pecuniary  transactions  of  individuals  and  corporations, 
so  long  as  a  connection  exists  between  them,  which,  like 
the  past,  offers  such  strong  inducements  to  make  them 
the  subjects  of  political  agitation.  Indeed,  I  am  more 
than  ever  convinced  of  the  dangers  to  which  the  free  and 
unbiassed  exercise  of  political  opinion — the  only  sure 
foundation  and  safeguard  of  republican  government- 
would  be  exposed  by  any  further  increase  of  the  already 
overgrown  influence  of  corporate  authorities — I  cannot, 
therefore,  consistently  with  my  views  of  duty,  advise  a 
renewal  of  a  connection  which  circumstances  have  dis 
solved. 

The  discontinuance  of  the  use  of  state  banks  for  fiscal 
purposes  ought  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  measure  of  hosti 
lity  towards  these  institutions.  B.mks  properly  establish 
ed  and  conducted,  are  highly  useful  to  the  business  of  the 
country,  and  doubtless  will  continue  to  exist  in  the  states 
so  long  as  they  conform  to  their  laws,  and  are  found  to 
be  safe  and  beneficial.  How  they  should  be  created, 
what  privileges  they  should  enjoy,  under  what  responsi 
bilities  they  should  act,  and  to  what  restrictions  they 
should  be  subject,  are  questions  which,  as  I  observed  on 
a  previous  occasion,  belong  to  the  states  to  decide.  Upon 
their  rights,  or  the  exercise  of  them,  the  general  govern 
ment  can  have  no  motive  to  encroach.  Its  duty  toward 
them  is  well  performed,  when  it  refrains  from  legislating 
for  their  special  benefit,  because  such  legislation  would 
violate  the  spirit  of  the  constitution,  and  be  unjust  to  other 
interests ;  when  it  takes  no  steps  to  impair  their  useful 
ness,  but  so  manages  its  own  affairs  as  to  make  it  the 
interest  of  those  institutions  to  strengthen  and  improve 
their  condition  for  the  security  and  welfare  of  the  com 
munity  at  large.  They  have  no  right  to  insist  on  a 
connection  with  the  federal  government,  nor  on  the  use 
of  the  public  money  for  their  own  benefit. 

The  object  of  the  measure  under  consideration  is,  to 
avoid  for  the  future  a  compulsory  connection  of  this  kind. 
It  proposes  to  place  the  general  government,  in  regard  to 
the  essential  points  of  the  collection,  safe-keeping  and 
transfer  of  the  public  money,  in  a  situation  which  shall 


VAX   BCREN'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  201 

relieve  it  from  all  dependence  on  the  will  of  irresponsible 
individuals  or  corporations ;  to  withdraw  those  moneys 
from  the  uses  of  private  trade,  and  confine  them  to  agents 
constitutionally  selected  and  controlled  by  Jaw  ;  to  abstain 
from  improper  interference  with  the  industry  of  the  peo 
ple,  and  withhold  inducements  to  improvident  dealings 
on  the  part  of  individuals ;  to  give  stability  to  the  con 
cerns  of  the  treasury  ;  to  preserve  the  measures  of  the 
government  from  the  unavoidable  reproaches  that  flow 
from  such  a  connection,  and  the  banks  themselves  from 
the  injurious  effects  of  a  supposed  participation  in  the 
political  conflicts  of  the  day,  from  which  they  will  other 
wise  find  it  difficult  to  escape. 

These  are  my  views  upon  this  important  subject ;  form 
ed  after  careful  reflection,  and  with  no  desire  but  to  arrive 
at  what  is  most  likely  to  promote  the  public  interest. 
They  are  now,  as  they  were  before,  submitted  with  an 
unfeigned  ueference  for  the  opinions  of  others.  It  was 
hardly  to  be  hoped  that  changes  so  important,  on  a  sub 
ject  so  interesting,  could  be  made  without  producing  a 
serious  diversity  of  opinion  ;  but  so  long  as  those  con 
flicting  views  are  kept  above  the  influence  of  individual 
or  local  interests ;  so  long  as  they  pursue  only  the  gene 
ral  good,  and  are  discussed  with  moderation  and  candor, 
such  diversity  is  a  benefit,  not  EM  injury.  If  a  majority 
of  Congress  see  the  public  welfare  in  a  different  light; 
and  more  especially  it  they  should  be  satisfied  that  the 
measure  proposed  would  not  be  acceptable  to  the  people ; 
I  shall  look  to  their  wisdom  to  substitute  such  as  may  be 
more  conducive  to  the  one,  and  more  satisfactory  to  the 
other.  In  any  event,  they  may  confidently  rely  on  my 
hearty  co-operation  to  the  fullest  extent  which  rny  views 
of  the  constitution  and  my  sense  of  duty  will  permit. 

It  is  obviously  important  to  this  bnmch  of  the  public 
service,  and  to  the  business  and  quiet  of  the  country,  that 
the  whole  subject  should  in  some  way  be  settled  and  regu 
lated  by  law  ;  and,  if  possible,  at  your  present  session. 
Besides  the  plan  above  referred  to,  I  am  not  aware  that 
any  one  has  been  suggested,  except  that  of  keeping  the 
public  money  in  the  state  banks,  in  special  deposit.  This 
plan  is,  to  some  extent,  in  accordance  with  the  practice 


202  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

of  the  government,  and  which,  except,  perhaps  during  the 
operation  of  the  late  deposit  act,  has  always  been  allowed, 
even  during  the  existence  of  a  national  bank,  to  make  a 
temporary  use  of  the  state  banks,  in  particular  places,  for 
the  safe-keeping  of  portions  of  the  revenue. 

This  discretionary  power  might  be  continued,  if  Con 
gress  deem  it  desirable,  whatever  general  system  may  be 
adopted.  So  long  as  the  connection  is  voluntary,  we  need 
perhaps  anticipate  few  of  those  difficulties,  and  little  of 
that  dependence  on  the  banks,  which  must  attend  every 
such  connection  when  compulsory  in  its  nature,  and  when 
so  arranged  as  to  make  the  banks  a  fixed  part  of  the 
machinery  of  government.  It  is  undoubtedly  in  the  pow 
er  of  Congress  so  to  regulate  and  guard  it  as  to  prevent 
the  public  money  from  being  applied  to  the  use,  or  inter 
mingled  with  the  affairs,  of  individuals.  Thus  arranged, 
although  it  would  not  give  to  the  government  that  control 
over  its  own  funds  which  I  desire  to  secure  to  it  by  the 
plan  I  have  proposed,  it  would,  it  must  be  admitted,  in 
a  great  degree,  accomplish  one  of  the  objects  which 
has  recommended  that  plan  to  my  judgment — the  sepa 
ration  of  the  fiscal  concerns  of  the  government  from  those 
of  individuals  or  corporations. 

With  these  observations,  I  recommend  the  whole  mat 
ter  to  your  dispassionate  reflection  ;  confidently  hoping 
that  some  conclusion  may  be  reached  by  your  delibera 
tions,  which,  on  the  one  hand,  shall  give  stability  to  the 
fiscal  operations  of  the  government,  and  be  consistent, 
on  the  other,  with  the  genius  of  our  institutions,  and  with 
the  interests  and  wishes  of  the  great  mass  of  our  con 
stituents. 

It  was  my  hope  that  nothing  would  occur  to  make  ne 
cessary,  on  this  occasion,  any  allusion  to  the  late  national 
bank.  There  are  circumstances,  however,  connected 
with  the  present  state  of  its  affairs,  that  bear  so  directly  on 
the  character  of  the  government  and  the  welfare  of  the 
citizen,  that  I  should  not  feel  myself  excused  in  neglect 
ing  to  notice  them.  The  charier  which  terminated  its 
banking  privileges  on  the  fourth  of  March,  1836,  con 
tinued  its  corporate  powers  two  years  more,  for  the 
eole  purpose  of  closing  its  affairs,  with  authority  "  to 


203 

use  the  corporate  name,  style  and  capacity,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  suits,  for  a  final  settlement  and  liquidation  of  the 
affairs  and  acts  of  the  corporation,  and  for  the  sale  and 
disposition  of  their  estate,  real,  personal  and  mixed,  but 
for  no  other  purpose  or  in  any  other  mariner  whatsoever." 
Just  before  the  banking  privileges  ceased,  its  effects  were 
transferred  by  the  bank  to  a  new  state  institution,  then 
recently  incorporated,  in  trust,  for  the  discharge  of  its 
debts  and  the  settlement  of  its  affairs. 

With  this  trustee,  by  authority  of  Congress,  an  adjust 
ment  was  subsequently  made  of  the  large  interest  which 
the  government  had  in  the  stock  of  the  institution.  The 
manner  in  which  a  trust  unexpectedly  created  upon  the 
act  granting  the  charter,  and  involving  such  great  public 
interests,  has  been  executed,  would,  under  any  circum 
stance,  be  a  fit  subject  of  inquiry  ;  but  much  more  does  it 
deserve  your  attention  when  it  embraces  the  redemption 
of  obligations  to  which  the  authority  and  credit  of  the 
United  States  have  given  value.  The  two  years  allowed 
are  now  nearly  at  an  end.  It  is  well  understood  that  the 
trustee  has  not  redeemed  and  cancelled  the  outstanding 
notes  of  the  bank,  but  has  re-issued,  and  is  continually  re 
issuing,  since  the  3d  of  March,  1836,  the  notes  which 
have  been  received  by  it  to  a  vast  amount. 

According  to  its  own  official  statement,  so  late  as  the 
first  of  October  last,  nineteen  months  after  the  banking 
privileges  given  by  the  charter  had  expired,  it  had  under 
its  control  uncancelled  notes  of  the  late  bank  of  the  United 
States  to  the  amount  of  twenty-seven  millions  five  hun 
dred  and  sixty-one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-six 
dollars,  of  which  six  millions  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-one  dollars  were  in 
actual  circulation,  one  million  four  him  Ired  and  sixty- 
eight  thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty  seven  dollars  at 
state  bank  agencies,  and  three  millions  two  thousand  three 
hundred  and  ninety  dollars  in  transitu:  thus  showing  thnt 
upwards  of  ten  millions  and  a  half  of  the  notes  of  the  old 
bank  were  then  still  kept  outstanding. 

The  impropriety  of  this  procedure  is  obvious  ;  it  being 
the  duty  of  the  trustee  to  cancel  and  not  to  put  forth  the 
notes  of  an  institution,  whose  concerns  it  had  undertaken 


201  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

to  wind  up.  If  the  trustee  has  a  right  to  re-issue  tnese 
notes  now,  I  can  see  no  reason  why  he  may  not  continue 
to  do  so  after  the  expiration  of  the  two  years.  As  no  one 
could  have  anticipated  a  course  so  extraordinary,  the  pro 
hibitory  clause  of  the  chatter  above  quoted  was  not  accom 
panied  by  any  penalty  or  other  special  provision  for  en 
forcing  it;  nor  have  we  any  general  law  for  the  prevention 
of  similar  acts  in  future. 

But  it  is  not  in  this  view  of  the  subject  alone  that  your 
interposition  is  required.  The  United  States,  in  settling 
with  the  trustee  for  their  stock,  have  withdrawn  their 
funds  from  their  former  direct  liability  to  the  creditors  of 
the  old  bank,  yet  notes  of  the  institution  continue  to  be 
sent  forth  in  its  name,  and  apparently  upon  the  authority 
of  the  United  States.  The  transactions  connected  with 
the  employment  of  the  bills  of  the  old  bank  are  of  vast 
extent ;  and  should  they  result  unfortunately,  the  interests 
of  individuals  may  be  deeply  compromised.  Without  un 
dertaking  to  decide  how  far,  or  in  what  form,  if  any,  the 
trustee  could  be  made  liable  for  notes  which  contain  no 
obligation  on  his  part;  or  the  old  bank,  for  such  as  are 
put  in  circulation  after  the  expiration  of  its  charter,  and 
without  its  authority  ;  or  the  government  for  indemnity  in 
case  of  loss,  the  question  still  presses  iiself  upon  your 
consideration,  whether  it  is  consistent  with  the  duty  and 
good  faith  on  the  part  of  the  government,  to  witness  this 
proceeding  without  a  single  effort  to  arrest  it. 

The  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
Office,  which  will  be  laid  before  you  by  the  secretary  of 
the  treasury,  will  show  how  the  affairs  of  that  office  have 
been  conducted  for  the  past  year.  The  disposition  of  the 
public  lands  is  one  of  the  most  important  trusts  confided 
to  congress.  The  practicability  of  retaining  the  title  and 
control  of  such  extensive  domains  in  the  general  govern 
ment,  and  at  the  same  time  admitting  the  territories  em 
bracing  them  into  the  federal  union,  as  co-equal  with  the 
original  states,  was  seriously  doubted  by  many  of  our 
wisest  statesmen.  All  feared  that  they  would  become  a 
scource  of  discord,  and  many  carried  their  apprehen 
sions  so  far  as  to  see  in  them  the  seeds  of  a  future 
dissolution  of  the  confederacy.  But  happily  our  expe- 


VAN  BUREN'S  FIKST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  205 

rience  has  already  been  sufficient  to  quiet,  in  a  great  de 
gree,  all  such  apprehensions.  The  position,  at  one  time 
assumed — that  the  admission  of  new  states  into  the  Union 
on  the  same  footing  with  the  original  states,  was  incom 
patible  with  a  right  of  soil  in  the  United  States,  and  ope 
rated  as  a  surrender  thereof,  notwithstanding  the  terms  of 
the  compacts  by  which  their  admission  was  designed  to 
be  regulated — has  been  wisely  abandoned. 

Whether  in  the  new  or  the  old  states,  all  now  agree 
that  the  right  of  soil  to  the  public  lands  remains  in  the 
federal  government,  and  that  these  lands  constitute  a  com 
mon  property,  to  be  disposed  of  for  the  common  benefit 
of  all  the  states,  old  and  new.  Acquiescence  in  this  just 
principle  by  the  people  of  the  new  states  has  naturally 
promoted  a  disposition  to  adopt  the  most  liberal  policy  in 
the  sale  of  the  public  lands.  A  policy  which  should  be 
limited  to  the  mere  object  of  selling  the  lands  for  the 
greatest  possible  sum  of  money,  without  regard  to  higher 
considerations,  finds  but  few  advocates.  On  the  contrary 
it  is  generally  conceded,  that  while  the  mode  of  dispo 
sition  adopted  by  the  government,  should  always  be  a 
prudent  one,  yet  its  leading  object  ought  to  be  the  early 
settlement,  and  cultivation  of  the  lands  sold  ;  and  that  it 
should  discountenance,  if  it  cannot  prevent,  the  accumu 
lation  of  large  tracts  in  the  same  hands,  which  must  ne 
cessarily  retard  the  growth  of  the  new  states,  or  entail 
upon  them  a  dependent  territory  and  its  attendant 
evils. 

A  question  embracing  such  important  interests,  and  so 
well  calculated  to  enlist  the  feelings  of  the  people  in  every 
quarter  of  the  Union,  has  very  naturally  given  rise  to 
numerous  plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  existing  sys 
tem.  The  distinctive  features  of  the  policy  that,  has 
hitherto  prevailed,  are,  to  dispose  of  the  public  lands  at 
moderate  prices,  thus  enabling  a  greater  number  to  enter 
into  competition  for  their  purchase,  and  accomplishing  a 
double  object  of  promoting  their  rapid  settlement  by  the 
purchasers,  and  at  the  same  time  increasing  the  receipts 
of  the  treasury ;  to  sell  for  cash,  thereby  preventing  the 
disturbing  influence  of  a  large  mass  of  private  citizens 
indebted  to  the  government  which  they  have  a  voice  in 

18 


206  THE    TRUE     REPUBLICAN. 

controlling ;  to  bring  them  into  market  no  faster  than  good 
lands  are  supposed  to  be  wanted  for  improvements,  there 
by  preventing  the  accumulation  of  large  tracts  in  few 
hands ;  and  to  apply  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  to  the 
general  purposes  of  the  government;  thus  diminishing 
the  amount  to  be  raised  from  the  people  of  the  states  by 
taxation,  and  giving  each  state  its  portion  of  the  benefits 
to  be  derived  from  this  common  fund  in  a  manner  the 
most  quiet,  and  at  the  same  time,  perhaps  the  most  equi 
table  that  can  be  devised. 

These  provisions,  with  occasional  enactments  in  be 
half  of  special  interests  deemed  entitled  to  the  favor  of 
government,  have  in  their  execution,  produced  results  as 
beneficial  upon  the  whole  as  could  reasonably  be  expected 
in  a  matter  so  vast,  so  complicated,  and  so  exciting.  Up 
wards  of  seventy  millions  of  acres  have  been  sold,  the  great 
er  part  of  which  is  believed  to  have  been  purchased  for 
actual  settlement.  The  population  of  the  new  states 
and  territories  created  out  of  the  public  domain,  in 
creased  between  1800  and  1830,  from  less  than  sixty 
thousand,  to  upwards  of  two  millions  three  hundred 
thousand  souls,  constituting,  at  the  latter  period,  about  one 
fifth  of  the  whole  people  of  the  United  States.  The  in 
crease  since  cannot  be  accurately  known,  but  the  whole 
may  now  be  safely  estimated  at  over  three  and  a  half 
millions  of  souls ;  composing  nine  states,  the  representa 
tives  of  which  constitute  above  one  third  of  the  Senate, 
and  over  one  sixth  of  the  House  of  the  Representatives  of 
the  United  States. 

Thus  has  been  formed  a  body  of  free  and  independent 
landholders,  with  a  rapidity  unequalled  in  the  history  of 
mankind ;  and  this  great  result  has  been  produced  with 
out  leaving  any  thing  for  future  adjustment  between  the 
government  and  its  citizens.  The  system  under  which 
so  much  has  been  accomplished  cannot  be  intrinsically 
bad,  and  with  occasional  modifications,  to  correct  abuses, 
and  adapt  it  to  changes  of  circumstances,  may,  I  think, 
be  safely  trusted  for  the  future.  There  is,  in  the 
management  of  such  extensive  interests,  much  virtue  in 
stability  ;  and  although  great  and  obvious  improvements 
should  not  be  declined,  changes  should  never  be  made 


VAN  BUREN'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  4>07 

without  the  fullest  examination,  and  the  clearest  demon 
stration  of  their  practical  utility. 

In  the  history  of  the  past,  we  have  an  assurance  that 
this  safe  rule  of  action  will  not  be  departed  from  in  rela 
tion  to  the  public  lands  ;  nor  is  it  believed  that  any  ne 
cessity  exists  for  interfering  with  the  fundamental  princi 
ples  of  the  system,  or  that  the  public  mind,  even  in  the 
new  states,  is  desirous  of  any  radical  alterations.  On  the 
contrary,  the  general  disposition  appears  to  be,  to  make 
such  modifications  and  additions  only  as  will  more  ef 
fectually  carry  out  the  original  policy  of  filling  our  new 
states  and  territories  with  an  industrious  and  independent 
population. 

The  modification  most  perseveringly  pressed  upon  Con 
gress,  which  has  occupied  so  much  of  its  time  for  years 
past,  and  will  probably  do  so  for  a  long  time  to  come,  if 
not  sooner  satisfactorily  adjusted,  is  a  reduction  in  the 
cost  of  such  portions  of  the  public  lands  as  are  ascertained 
to  be  unsaleable  at  the  rate  now  established  by  law,  and 
a  graduation,  according  to  their  relative  value,  of  the 
prices  at  which  they  may  hereafter  be  sold.  It  is  worthy 
of  consideration  whether  justice  may  not  be  done  to  every 
interest  in  this  matter,  and  a  vexed  question  set  at  rest, 
perhaps  forever,  by  a  reasonable  compromise  of  conflict 
ing  opinions.  Hitherto,  after  being  offered  at  public 
sale,  lands  have  been  disposed  of  at  one  uniform  price, 
whatever  difference  there  might  be  in  their  intrinsic 
value. 

The  leading  considerations  urged  in  favor  of  the  mea 
sure  referred  to,  are,  that  in  almost  all  the  land  districts, 
and  particularly  in  those  in  which  the  lanJs  have  been 
long  surveyed  and  exposed  to  sale,  there  are  still  remain 
ing  numerous  and  large  tracts  of  every  gradation  of  value, 
from  the  government  price  downward  ;  that  these  lands 
wili  not  be  purchased  at  the  government  price,  so  long  as 
better  can  be  conveniently  obtained  for  the  same  amount; 
that  there  are  large  tracts  which  even  the  improvements 
of  the  adjacent  lands  will  never  raise  to  that  price ;  and 
that  the  present  uniform  price,  combined  with  their  irre 
gular  value,  operates  to  prevent  a  desirable  compactness 
of  settlement  in  the  new  states,  and  to  retard  the  full  de- 


208  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

velopement  of  that  wise  policy  on  which  our  land  system 
is  founded,  to  the  injury  not  only  of  the  several  states 
where  the  lands  lie,  i  ut  of  the  United  States  as  a  whole. 

The  remedy  proposed  has  been  a  reduction  in  prices 
according  to  the  length  of  time  the  lands  have  been  in  the 
market,  without  reference  to  any  other  circumstances. 
The  certainty  that  the  efflux  of  time  would  not  always  in 
such  cases,  and  perhaps  not  even  generally,  furnish  a  true 
criterion  of  value  ;  and  the  probability  that  persons  resid 
ing  in  the  vicinity,  as  the  period  for  the  reduction  of  prices 
approached,  would  postpone  purchases  they  would  other 
wise  make,  for  the  purpose  of  availing  themselves  of  the 
lower  price,  with  other  considerations  of  a  similar  cha 
racter,  have  hitherto  been  successfully  urged  to  defeat  the 
graduation  upon  time. 

May  not  all  reasonable  desires  upon  this  subject  be  sa 
tisfied  without  encountering  any  of  these  objections  ?  All 
will  concede  the  abstract  principle,  that  the  price  of  the 
public  lands  should  be  proportioned  to  their  relative  value, 
so  far  as  that  can  be  accomplished  without  departing  from 
the  rule  heretofore  observed,  requiring  fixed  prices  in 
cases  of  private  entries.  The  difficulty  of  the  subject 
seems  to  lie  in  the  mode  of  ascertaining  what  that  value 
is.  Would  not  the  safest  plan  be  that  which  has  been 
adopted  by  many  of  the  states  as  to  the  basis  of  taxation 
—an  actual  valuation  of  lands  and  classifications  of  them 
into  different  rates  ? 

Would  it  not  be  practicable  and  expedient  to  cause  the 
relative  value  of  the  public  lands  in  the  old  districts,  which 
have  been  for  a  certain  length  of  time  in  market,  to  be 
appraised  and  classed  into  two  or  more  rates  below  the 
present  minimum  price,  by  the  officers  now  employed  in 
this  branch  of  the  public  service,  or  in  any  other  mode 
deemed  preferable,  and  to  make  those  prices  permanent, 
if  upon  the  coming  in  of  the  report  they  shall  prove  sa 
tisfactory  to  Congress?  Cannot  all  the  objects  of  gradu 
ation  be  accomplished  in  this  way,  and  the  objections 
which  have  hitherto  been  urged  against  it,  avoided  ?  It 
would  seem  to  me  that  such  a  step,  with  a  restriction  of 
the  sales  to  limited  quantities,  and  for  actual  improvement, 
would  be  free  from  all  just  exceptions. 


VAX   DUREN'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.          209 

By  the  full  exposition  of  the  value  of  the  lands  thus 
furnished  and  extensively  promulgated,  persons  living  at 
a  distance  would  be  informed  of  their  true  condition,  and 
enabled  to  enter  into  competition  with  those  residing  in 
the  vicinity  ;  the  means  of  acquiring  an  independent  home 
would  he  brought  within  the  reach  of  many  who  are 
unable  to  purchase  at  present  prices  ;  the  population  of 
the  new  states  would  be  more  compact,  and  large  tracts 
would  be  sold  which  would  otherwise  remain  on  hand  ; 
not  only  would  the  land  be  brought  within  the  means  of  a 
large  number  of  purchasers,  but  many  persons  possessed 
of  greater  means  would  be  content  to  settle  on  a  larger 
quantity  of  the  poorer  lands,  rather  than  emigrate 
farther  west  in  pursuit  of  a  smaller  quantity  of  better 
lands. 

Such  a  measure  would  also  seem  to  be  more  consistent 
with  the  policy  of  the  existing  laws — that  of  converting 
the  public  domain  into  cultivated  farms  owned  by  their 
occupants.  That  policy  is  not  best  promoted  by  sending 
emigration  up  the  almost  interminable  streams  of  the  west, 
to  occupy  in  groups  the  best  spots  of  land,  leaving  im 
mense  wastes  behind  them,  and  enlarging  the  frontier  be 
yond  the  means  of  the  government  to  afford  it  adequate 
protection;  but  in  encouraging  it  to  occupy,  with  reasona 
ble  denseness,  the  territory  over  which  it  advances,  and 
find  its  best  defence  in  the  compact  front  which  it  presents 
to  the  Indian  tribes.  Many  of  you  will  bring  to  the  con 
sideration  of  the  subject  the  advantage  of  local  knowledge 
and  greater  experience,  and  all  will  be  desirous  of 
making  an  early  and  final  disposition  of  every  disturb 
ing  question  in  regard  to  this  important  interest.  If  these 
suggestions  shall  in. any  degree  contribute  to  the  accom 
plishment  of  so  important  a  result,  it  will  afford  me 
sincere  satisfaction. 

In  some  sections  of  the  country  most  of  the  public 
lands  have  been  sold,  and  the  registers  and  receivers  have 
little  to  do.  It  is  a  subject  worthy  of  inquiry  whether, 
in  many  cases,  two  or  more  districts  may  not  be  consoli 
dated,  and  the  number  of  persons  employed  in  this  busi 
ness  considerably  reduced.  Indeed,  the  time  will  come, 
when  it  will  be  the  true  policy  of  the  general  government 


210  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

as  to  some  of  the  states,  to  transfer  to  them,  for  a  reasona 
ble  equivalent,  all  the  refuse  and  unsold  lands,  and  to 
withdraw  the  machinery  of  the  federal  land  offices  alto 
gether.  All  who  take  a  comprehensive  view  of  our  fede 
ral  system,  and  believe  that  one  of  its  greatest  excellen 
cies  consists  in  interfering  as  little  as  possible  with  the 
internal  concerns  of  the  states,  look  forward  with  great 
interest  to  this  result. 

A  modification  of  the  existing  laws  in  respect  to  the 
prices  of  the  public  lands,  might  also  have  a  favorable  in 
fluence  on  the  legislation  of  Congress,  in  relation  to 
another  branch  of  the  subject.  Many  who  have  not  the 
ability  to  buy  at  present  prices,  settle  on  those  lands,  with 
the  hope  of  acquiring  from  their  cultivation  the  means  of 
purchasing  under  pre-emption  laws,  from  time  to  time 
passed  by  Congress.  For  this  encroachment  on  the  rights 
of  the  United  States,  they  excuse  themselves  under  the 
plea  of  their  own  necessities  ;  the  fact  that  they  dispossess 
nobody,  and  only  enter  upon  the  waste  domain;  that 
they  give  additional  value  to  the  public  hinds  in  their 
vicinity,  and  their  intention  ultimately  to  pay  the  govern 
ment  price.  So  much  weight  has  from  time  to  time  been 
attached  to  these  considerations,  that  Congress  have  passed 
laws  giving  actual  settlers  on  the  public  lands  a  right  of 
pre-emption  to  the  tracts  occupied  by  them,  at  the  mini 
mum  price. 

These  laws  have  in  all  instances  been  retrospective  in 
their  operations  ;  but  in  a  few  years  after  their  passage, 
crowds  of  new  settlers  have  been  found  on  the  public 
lands,  for  similar  reasons,  and  under  like  expectations, 
who  have  been  indulged  with  the  same  privilege.  This 
course  of  legislation  tends  to  impair  public  respect  for  the 
laws  of  the  country.  Either  the  laws  to  prevent  intrusion 
upon  the  public  lands  should  be  executed,  or,  if  that 
should  be  impracticable  or  inexpedient,  they  should  De 
modified  or  repealed.  If  the  public  lands  are  to  be  con 
sidered  as  open  to  be  occupied  by  any,  they  should,  by 
law,  be  thrown  open  to  all. 

That  which  is  intended,  in  all  instances,  to  be  legalized, 
should  at  once  be  made  legal,  that  those  who  are  dis 
posed  to  conform  to  the  laws,  may  enjoy  at  least  equal 


VA\  BURKN'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.          21  . 

privileges  witli  those  who  are  not.  But  it  is  not  believed 
to  be  the  disposition  of  Congress  to  open  the  public  lands 
to  occupancy  without  regular  entries  and  payment  of  the 
government  price,  as  such  a  course  must  tend  to  worse 
evils  than  the  credit  system,  which  it  was  found  necessary 
to  abolish. 

It  would  seem,  therefore,  to  be  the  part  of  wisdom  and 
sound  policy  to  remove,  as  far  as  practicable,  the  causes 
which  produce  intrusions  upon  the  public  lands,  and  then 
take  efficient  steps  to  prevent  them  in  future.  Would  any 
single  measure  be  so  effective  in  removing  all  plausible 
grounds  for  these  intrusions  as  the  graduation  of  price  al 
ready  suggested  ?  A  short  period  of  industry  and  econo 
my  in  any  part  of  our  country  would  enable  the  poorest 
citizen  to  accumulate  the  means  to  buy  him  a  home  at  the 
lowest  prices,  and  leave  him  without  apology  for  settling 
on  lands  not  his  own.  If  he  did  not,  under  such  circum 
stances,  he  would  enlist  no  sympathy  in  his  favor;  and 
the  laws  would  be  readily  executed  without  doing  violence 
to  public  opinion. 

A  large  portion  of  our  citizens  have  seated  themselves 
on  the  public  lands,  without  authority,  since  the  passage 
of  the  last  pre-emption  law,  and  now  ask  the  enactment 
of  another,  to  enable  them  to  retain  the  lands  occupied, 
upon  payment  of  the  minimum  government  price.  They 
ask  that  which  has  been  repeatedly  granted  before.  If 
the  future  may  be  judged  of  by  the  past,  little  harm  can 
be  done  to  the  interests  of  the  treasury  by  yielding  to  their 
request.  Upon  a  critical  examination,  it  is  found  that  the 
lands  sold  at  the  public  sales  since  the  introduction  of 
cash  payments  in  1820,  have  produced,  on  an  average, 
the  nett  of  only  six  cents  an  acre  more  than  the  minimum 
government  price.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
future  sales  will  be  more  productive.  The  government, 
therefore,  has  no  adequate  pecuniary  interest  to  induce  it 
to  drive  those  people  from  the  lands  they  occupy,  for  the 
purpose  of  selling  them  to  others. 

Entertaining  these  views,  I  recommend  the  passage  of 
a  pre-emption  law  for  their  benefit,  in  connection  with 
the  preparatory  steps  towards  the  graduation  of  the  price 
of  the  public  lands,  and  farther  and  more  effectual  pn*- 


212  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

visions  to  prevent  intrusions  hereafter.  Indulgence  to 
those  who  have  settled  on  these  lauds  with  expectations 
that  past  legislation  would  be  made  a  rule  for  the  future, 
and  at  the  same  time  removing  the  most  plausible  ground 
on  which  intrusions  are  excused,  and  adopting  more  effi 
cient  means  to  prevent  them  hereafter,  appears  to  me  the 
most  judicious  disposition  which  can  be  made  of  this  dif 
ficult  subject. 

The  limitations  and  restrictions  to  guard  against  abuses 
in  the  execution  of  the  pre-emption  law,  will  necessarily 
attract  the  attention  of  Congress  :  but  under  no  circum 
stances  is  it  considered  expedient  to  authorize  floating 
claims  in  any  shape.  They  have  been  heretofore,  and 
doubtless  would  be  hereafter,  most  prolific  sources  of  fraud 
and  oppression,  and  instead  of  operating  to  confer  the 
favor  of  the  government  on  industrious  settlers,  are  often 
used  only  to  minister  to  a  spirit  of  cupidity  at  the  expense 
of  the  most  meritorious  of  that  class. 

The  accompanying  report  of  the  secretary  of  war  will 
bring  to  your  view  the  state  of  the  army,  and  all  the  va 
rious  subjects  confided  to  the  superintendence  of  that 
officer. 

The  principal  part  of  the  army  ha?  been  concentrated 
in  Florida,  with  a  view  and  in  the  expectation  of  bring 
ing  the  war  in  that  territory  to  a  speedy  close.  The  ne 
cessity  of  stripping  the  posts  on  the  maritime  and  inland 
frontiers,  of  their  entire  garrisons,  for  the  purpose  of  as 
sembling  in  the  field  an  army  of  less  than  four  thousand 
men,  would  seem  to  indicate  the  necessity  of  increasing 
our  regular  forces ;  and  the  superior  efficiency  as  well  as 
greatly  diminished  expense  of  that  description  of  troops, 
recommend  this  measure  as  one  of  economy,  as  well  as  of 
expediency.  I  refer  to  the  report  for  the  reasons  which 
have  induced  the  secretary  of  war  to  urge  the  re-organiza 
tion  and  enlargement  of  the  staff  of  the  army,  and  of  the 
ordnance  corps,  in  which  I  fully  concur. 

It  is  not,  however,  compatible  with  the  interest  of  the 
people  to  maintain,  in  time  of  peace,  a  regular  force  ade 
quate  to  the  defence  of  our  extensive  frontiers.  In  pe 
riods  of  danger  and  alarm,  we  must  rely  principally  upon 
a  well-organized  militia ;  and  some  general  arrangement 


VAN  BUREN'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.      213 

that  will  render  this  description  of  force  more  efficient, 
has  long  been  a  subject  of  anxious  solicitude.  It  was  re 
commended  to  the  first  Congress  by  General  Washington, 
and  has  since  been  frequently  brought  to  your  notice,  and 
recently  its  importance  strongly  urged  by  my  immediate 
predecessor. 

The  provision  in  the  constitution  that  renders  it  neces 
sary  to  adopt  a  uniform  system  of  organization  for  the 
militia  throughout  the  United  States,  presents  an  insur 
mountable  obstacle  to  an  efficient  arrangement  by  the 
classification  heretofore  proposed,  and  I  invite  your  atten 
tion  to  the  plan  which  will  be  submitted  by  the  secretary 
of  war,  for  the  organization  of  the  volunteer  corps,  and 
the  instruction  of  militia  officers,  as  more  simple  and  prac 
ticable,  if  not  equally  advantageous,  as  a  general  arrange 
ment  of  the  whole  militia  of  the  United  States. 

A  moderate  increase  of  the  corps  both  of  military  and 
topographical  engineers,  has  been  more  than  once  recom 
mended  by  my  predecessor,  and  my  conviction  of  the  pro 
priety,  not  to  say  necessity  of  the  measure,  in  order  to 
enable  them  to  perform  the  various  and  important  duties 
imposed  upon  them,  induces  me  to  repeat  the  recommen 
dation. 

The  Military  Academy  continues  to  answer  all  the  pur 
poses  of  its  establishment,  and  not  only  furnishes  well- 
educated  officers  of  the  army,  but  serves  to  diffuse  through 
out  the  mass  of  our  citizens,  individuals  possessed  of  mi 
litary  knowledge,  and  the  scientific  attainments  of  civil 
and  military  engineering.  At  present,  the  cadet  is  bound, 
with  the  consent  of  his  parents  or  guardians,  to  remain  in 
service  five  years  from  the  period  of  his  enlistment,  unless 
sooner  discharged,  thus  exacting  only  one  year's  service 
in  the  army  after  his  education  is  completed.  This  does 
not  appear  to  me  sufficient.  Government  ought  to  com 
mand  for  a  longer  period  the  services  of  those  who  are 
educated  at  the  public  expense ;  and  I  recommend  that 
the  time  of  enlistment  be  extended  to  seven  years,  and  the 
terms  of  the  engagement  strictly  enforced. 

The  creation  of  a  national  foundry  for  cannon,  to  be 
common  to  the  service  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  Uni 
ted  States,  has  been  heretofore  recommended,  and  ap- 


214  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

pears  to  be  required  in  order  to  place  our  ordnance  on  an 
equal  footing  with  that  of  other  countries,  and  to  enable 
that  branch  of  the  service  to  control  the  prices  of  those 
articles,  and  graduate  the  supplies  to  the  wants  of  the 
government,  as  well  as  to  regulate  their  quality  and  insure 
their  uniformity. 

The  same  reasons  induce  me  to  recommend  the  erec 
tion  of  a  manufactory  of  gunpowder,  to  be  under  the  di 
rection  of  the  ordnance  office.  The  establishment  of  a 
manufactory  of  small  arms  west  of  the  Alieghany  moun 
tains,  upon  the  plan  proposed  by  the  secretary  of  war, 
will  contribute  to  extend  throughout  that  country  the  im 
provements  which  exist  in  establishments  of  a  similar 
description  in  the  Atlantic  states,  and  tend  to  a  much  more 
economical  distribution  of  the  armament  required  in  the 
western  portion  of  our  Union. 

The  system  of  removing  the  Indians  west  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  commenced  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  1804,  has  been 
steadily  persevered  in  by  every  succeeding  President,  and 
may  be  considered  the  settled  policy  of  the  country.  Un 
connected  at  first  with  any  well-defined  system  for  their 
improvement,  the  inducements  held  out  to  the  Indians 
were  confined  to  the  greater  abundance  of  game  to  be  found 
in  the  west;  but  when  the  beneficial  effects  of  their  re 
moval  were  made  apparent,  a  more  philanthropic  and  en 
lightened  policy  was  adopted,  in  purchasing  their  lands 
east  of  the  Mississippi.  .Liberal  prices  were  given,  and 
provisions  inserted  in  all  the  treaties  with  them  for  the 
application  of  the  funds  they  received  in  exchange,  to  such 
purposes  as  were  best  calculated  to  promote  their  present 
welfare,  and  advance  their  future  civilization.  These 
measures  have  been  attended  thus  far  with  the  happiest 
results. 

It  will  been  seen,  by  referring  to  the  report  of  the  com 
missioner  of  Indian  affairs,  that  the  most  sanguine  expec 
tations  of  the  friends  and  promoters  of  this  system  have 
been  realized.  The  Choctaws,  Cherokees,  and  other 
tribes  that  first  emigrated  beyond  the  Mississippi,  have, 
for  the  most  part,  abandoned  the  hunter  state  and  be 
come  cultivators  of  the  soil.  The  improvement  of 
their  condition  has  been  rapid,  and  it  is  believed  that 


VAN  BUREN'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  2)5 

they  a'-e  now  fitted  to  enjoy  the  advantnges  of  a  simple 
form  of  government,  which  has  been  submitted  to  them 
and  received  their  sanction  ;  and  I  cannot  too  strongly 
urge  this  subject  upon  the  attention  of  Congress. 

Stipulations  have  been  made  with  all  the  Indian  tribes 
to  remove  them  beyond  the  Mississippi,  except  with  the 
band  of  the  Wyandotts,  the  Six  Nations,  in  New  York, 
the  Menomonees,  Mandans,  and  Stock  bridges,  in  Wis 
consin,  and  Miarnies,  in  Indiana.  With  all  but  the 
Menomonees,  it  is  expected  that  arrangements  for  their 
emigration  will  be  completed  the  present  year.  The 
resistance  which  has  been  opposed  to  their  removal  by 
some  tribes,  even  after  treaties  had  been  made  with  them 
to  that  effect,  has  arisen  from  various  causes,  operating 
differently  on  each  of  them. 

In  most  instances  they  have  been  instigated  to  resist 
ance  ^by  persons  to  whom  the  trade  with  them  and  the 
acauisition  of  their  annuities  were  important;  and  in 
some  by  the  personal  influence  of  interested  chiefs. — 
These  obstacles  must  be  overcome  ;  for  the  government 
cannot  relinquish  the  execution  of  this  policy  with 
out  sacrificing  important  interests,  and  abandoning  the 
tribes  remaining  east  of  the  Mississippi  to  certain  destruc 
tion. 

The  decrease  in  numbers  of  the  tribes  within  the  limits 
of  the  states  and  territories  has  been  most  rapid.  If  they 
be  removed,  they  can  be  protected  from  those  associa 
tions  and  evil  practices  which  exert  so  pernicious  and 
destructive  an  influence  over  their  destinies.  They  can 
be  induced  to  labor,  and  to  acquire  property,  and  its  ac 
quisition  will  inspire  them  with  a  feeling  of  independence. 
Their  minds  can  be  cultivated,  and  they  can  be  taught  the 
value  of  salutary  and  uniform  laws,  and  be  made  sensible 
of  the  blessings  of  free  government,  and  capable  of  enjoy 
ing  its  advantages. 

In  the  possession  of  property,  knowledge,  and  a  good 
government,  free  to  give  what  direction  they  please  to 
their  labor,  and  sharers  in  the  legislation  by  which  their 
persons  and  the  profits  of  their  industry  are  to  be  protect 
ed  and  secured,  they  will  have  an  ever  present  convic 
tion  of  the  importance  of  union,  of  peace  among 


216  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

themselves,  and  of  the  preservation  of  amicable  relations 
with  us. 

The  interests  of  the  United  States  would  also  be  greatly 
promoted  by  freeing  the  relations  between  the  general 
and  state  governments,  from  what  has  proved  a  most  em 
barrassing  incumbrance,  by  a  satisfactory  adjustment  of 
conflicting  titles  to  lands,  caused  by  the  occupation  of  the 
Indians,  and  by  causing  the  resources  of  the  whole  coun 
try  to  be  developed  by  the  power  of  the  state  and  general 
governments,  and  improved  by  the  enterprise  of  a  white 
population. 

Intimately  connected  with  this  subject  is  the  obligation 
of  the  government  to  fulfil  its  treaty  stipulations,  and  to 
protect  the  Indians  thus  assembled  "  at  their  new  resi 
dence  from  all  interruptions  and  disturbances  from  any 
other  tribes  or  nations  of  Indians,  or  from  any  other  per 
son  or  persons  whatsoever,"  and  the  equally  solemn  ob 
ligation  to  guard  from  Indian  hostilities  its  own  border 
settlements  stretching  along  a  line  of  more  than  one  thou 
sand  miles.  To  enable  the  government  to  redeem  their 
pledge  to  the  Indians,  and  to  afford  adequate  protection  to 
its  own  citizens,  will  require  the  continual  presence  of  a 
considerable  regular  force  on  the  frontiers,  and  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  chain  of  permanent  posts.  Examinations 
of  the  country  are  now  making,  with  a  view  to  decide 
on  the  most  suitable  points  for  the  erection  of  fort 
resses  and  other  works  of  defence,  the  results  of  which 
will  be  presented  to  you  by  the  secretary  of  war  at  an 
early  day,  together  with  a  plan  for  the  effectual  protec 
tion  of  friendly  Indians,  and  the  permanent  defence  of 
the  frontier  states. 

By  the  report  of  the  secretary  of  the  navy,  herewith 
communicated,  it  appears  that  unremitted  exertions  have 
been  made  at  the  different  navy-yards,  to  carry  into  effect 
all  authorized  measures  for  the  extension  and  employ 
ment  of  our  naval  force.  The  launching  and  prepa 
ration  of  the  ship  of  the  line  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
complete  repairs  of  the  ships  of  the  line  Ohio,  Delaware, 
and  Columbus,  may  be  noticed,  as  forming  a  respectable 
addition  to  this  important  arm  of  our  national  defence. 
Our  commerce  and  navigation  have  received  increased 


VAN  BUREN'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.          217 

aid  and  protection  during  the  present  year.  Our  squad 
rons  in  the  Pacific  and  on  the  Brazilian  station  have  heen 
much  increased,  and  that  in  the  Mediterranean,  although 
small,  is  adequate  to  the  present  wants  of  our  com 
merce  in  that  sea.  Additions  have  been  made  to  our 
squadron  on  the  West  India  station,  where  the  large 
force  under  Commodore  Dallas  has  been  most  actively 
and  efficiently  employed  in  protecting  our  commerce,  in 
preventing  the  importation  of  slaves,  and  in  co-operating 
with  the  officers  of  the  army  in  carrying  on  the  war  in 
Florida. 

The  satisfactory  condition  of  our  naval  force  abroad, 
leaves  at  our  disposal  the  means  of  conveniently  provid 
ing  for  a  home  squadron,  for  the  protection  of  commerce 
upon  our  extensive  coast.  The  amount  of  appropriations 
required  for  such  a  squadron  will  be  found  in  the  general 
estimates  for  the  naval  service,  for  the  year  1838. 

The  naval  officers  engaged  upon  our  coast  survey, 
have  rendered  important  service  to  our  navigation.  The 
discovery  of  a  new  channel  into  the  harbor  of  New  York, 
through  which  our  largest  ships  may  pass  without 
danger,  must  afford  impoitant  commercial  advantages  to 
that  harbor,  and  add  greatly  to  its  value  as  a  naval  station. 
The  accurate  survey  of  Georges'  shoals,  off  the  coast  of 
Massachusetts,  lately  completed,  will  render  compara 
tively  safe,  a  navigation  hitherto  considered  dangerous. 

Considerable  additions  have  been  made  to  the  number 
of  captains,  commanders,  lieutenants,  surgeons  and  assist 
ant  surgeons  in  the  navy.  These  additions  were  ren- 
deied  necessary,  by  the  increased  number  of  vessels  put 
in  commission,  to  answer  the  exigencies  of  our  growing 
commerce. 

Your  attention  is  respectfully  invited  to  the  various 
suggestions  of  the  secretary,  for  the  improvement  of  the 
naval  service. 

The  report  of  the  postmaster-general  exhibits  the  pro 
gress  and  condition  of  the  mail  service.  The  operations 
of  the  post-office  department,  constitutes  one  of  the 
most  active  elements  of  our  national  prosperity,  and  it 
is  gratifying  to  observe  with  what  vigor  they  are  con 
ducted.  The  mail  routes  of  the  United  States  cover  an 

19 


218  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

extent  of  about  one  hundred  and  forty-two  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  severity-seven  miles,  having  been  increased 
about  thirty-seven  thousand  one  hundred  and  three  miles, 
within  the  last  two  years. 

The  annual  mail  transportation  on  these  routes  is  about 
36,228,962  miles,  having  been  increased  about  10,359,- 
476  miles  within  the  same  period.  The  number  of  post- 
offices  has  also  been  increased  from  10,770,  to  12,009, 
very  few  of  which  receive  the  mails  less  than  once  a 
week,  and  a  large  portion  of  them  daily.  Contractors 
and  post-masters  in  general  are  represented  as  attend 
ing  to  their  duties  with  most  commendable  zeal  and 
fidelity. 

The  revenue  of  the  department  within  the  year  ending 
on  the  30th  of  June  last,  was  $4,137,066  59 ;  and  its  lia 
bilities  accruing  within  the  same  time,  were  $3,380,847 
75.  The  increase  of  revenue  over  that  of  the  preceding 
year,  was  $708,166  41. 

For  many  interesting  details,  I  refer  you  to  the  report 
of  the  postmaster-general,  with  the  accompanying  paper. 
Your  particular  attention  is  invited  to  the  necessity  of  pro 
viding  a  more  safe  and  convenient  building  for  the  accom 
modation  of  the  department. 

I  lay  before  Congress  copies  of  reports,  submitted  in 
pursuance  of  a  call  made  by  me  upon  the  heads  of  depart 
ments,  for  such  suggestions  as  their  experience  might 
enable  them  to  make,  as  to  what  further  legislative  pro 
visions  may  be  advantageously  adopted  to  secure  the 
faithful  application  of  public  money  to  the  objects  for  which 
they  are  appropriated  ;  to  prevent  their  misapplication  or 
embezzlement  by  those  intrusted  with  the  expenditure  of 
them;  and  generally  to  increase  the  security  of  the 
government  against  losses  in  their  disbursement.  It  is 
needless  to  dilate  on  the  importance  of  providing  such 
new  safeguards  as  are  within  the  power  of  legislation 
to  promote  these  ends ;  and  I  have  little  to  add  to 
the  recommendations  submitted  in  the  accompanying 
papers. 

By  law,  the  terms  of  service  of  our  most  important 
collecting  and  disbursing  officers  in  the  civil  departments, 
are  limited  to  four  years,  and  when  re-appointed,  their 


VAN  BUREN'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  219 

bonds  are  required  to  be  renewed.  The  safety  of  the 
public  is  much  increased  by  this  feature  of  the  law,  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  its  application  to  all  officers 
intrusted  with  tho  collection  or  disbursement  of  the  pub 
lic  money,  whatever  may  be  the  tenure  of  their  offices, 
would  be  equally  beneficial.  I  therefore  recommend,  in 
addition  to  such  of  the  suggestions  presented  by  the  heads 
of  department  as  you  may  think  useful,  a  general  provi 
sion  that  all  officers  of  the  army  or  navy,  or  in  the  civil 
department,  intrusted  with  the  receipt  or  payment  of  the 
public  money,  and  whose  term  of  service  is  either  un 
limited  or  for  a  longer  time  than  four  years,  be  required 
to  give  bonds,  with  good  and  sufficient  securities,  at  the 
expiration  of  every  such  period. 

A  change  in  the  period  of  terminating  the  fiscal  year, 
from  the  first  of  October  to  the  first  of  April,  has  been 
frequently  recommended,  and  appears  to  be  desirable. 

The  distressing  casualties  in  steamboats,  which  have 
so  frequently  happened,  during  the  year,  seem  to  evince 
the  necessity  of  attempting  to  prevent  them  by  means  of 
severe  provisions  connected  with  their  custom-house 
papers.  This  subject  was  submitted  to  the  attention  of 
Congress  by  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  in  his  last 
annual  report,  and  will  be  again  noticed  at  the  present 
session,  with  additional  details.  It  will  doubtless  receive 
that  early  and  careful  consideration  which  its  pressing 
importance  appears  to  require. 

Your  attention  has  heretofore  been  frequently  called 
to  the  affairs  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  I  should 
not  again  ask  it,  did  not  their  entire  dependence  on  Con 
gress  give  them  a  constant  claim  upon  its  notice.  Sepa 
rated  by  the  constitution  from  the  rest  of  the  Union, 
limited  in  extent,  and  aided  by  no  legislature  of  its  own, 
it  would  seem  to  be  a  spot  where  a  wise  and  uniform  sys 
tem  of  local  government  might  have  been  easily  adopted. 

This  district,  however,  unfortunately,  has  been  left  to 
linger  behind  the  rest  of  the  Union  ;  its  codes,  civil  and 
criminal,  are  not  only  very  defective,  but  full  of  obsolete 
or  inconvenient  provisions;  being  formed  of  portions  of 
two  states,  discrepancies  in  the  laws  prevail  in  different 
narts  of  the  territory,  small  as  it  is ;  and  although  it  was 


220  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

selected  as  the  seat  of  the  general  government,  the  site 
of  its  public  edifices,  the  depository  of  its  archives,  and 
the  residence  of  officers  intrusted  with  large  amounts  of 
public  property,  and  the  management  of  public  business, 
yet  it  has  never  been  subjected  to,  or  received,  that  spe 
cial  and  comprehensive  legislation  which  these  circum 
stances  peculiarly  demand. 

I  am  well  aware  of  the  various  subjects  of  greater 
magnitude  and  immediate  interest,  that  press  themselves 
on  the  consideration  of  Congress ;  but  I  believe  mere  is 
no  one  that  appeals  more  directly  to  its  justice,  man  a 
liberal  and  even  generous  attention  to  the  interests  of  r,he 
District  of  Columbia,  and  a  thorough  and  careful  revi 
sion  of  its  local  government. 


HARRISON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS, 
MARCH  4   1841. 

Fellow-Citizens: 

Called  from  a  retirement  which  I  had  supposed  was  to 
continue  for  the  residue  of  my  life,  to  fill  the  Chief  Ex 
ecutive  office  of  this  great  and  free  nation,  I  appear  before 
you,  to  take  the  oaths  which  the  Constitution  prescribes, 
as  a  necessary  qualification  for  the  performance  of  its  du 
ties.  And  in  obedience  to  a  custom  coeval  with  our  go 
vernment  and  what  I  believe  to  be  your  expectations,  I 
proceed  to  present  to  you  a  summary  of  the  principles 
which  will  govern  me  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  which 
I  shall  be  called  upon  to  perform. 

It  was  the  remark  of  a  Roman  Consul,  in  an  early  pe 
riod  of  that  celebrated  republic,  that  a  most  striking  con 
trast  was  observable  in  the  conduct  of  candidates  for  of 
fices  of  power  and  trust,  before  and  after  obtaining  them — 
they  seldom  carrying  out,  in  the  latter  case,  the  pledges 
and  promises  made  in  the  former.  However  much  the 
world  may  have  improved,  in  many  respects,  in  the  lapse 


HARRISON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  221 

of  upwards  of  two  thousand  years  since  the  remark  was 
made  by  the  virtuous  ard  indignant  Roman,  I  fear  that  a 
strict  examination  of  the  annals  of  some  of  the  modern 
elective  governments,  would  develope  similar  instances 
of  violated  confidence. 

Although  the  fiat  of  the  people  has  gone  forth,  pro 
claiming  me  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  this  glorious  Union, 
nothing  upon  their  part  remaining  to  be  done,  it  may  be 
thought  that  a  motive  may  exist  to  keep  up  the  delusion 
under  which  they  may  be  supposed  to  have  acted  in  rela 
tion  to  my  principles  and  opinions  ;  and  perhaps  there 
may  be  some  in  this  assembly  who  have  come  here  either 
prepared  to  condemn  those  I  shall  now  deliver,  or,  ap 
proving  them,  to  doubt  the  sincerity  with  which  they  are 
uttered.  But  the  lapse  of  a  few  months  will  confirm  or 
dispel  their  fears.  The  outline  of  principles  to  govern, 
and  measures  to  be  adopted,  by  an  Administration  not  yet 
begun,  will  soon  be  exchanged  for  immutable  history,  and 
I  shall  stand,  either  exonerated  by  my  countrymen,  or  class 
ed  with  the  mass  of  those  who  promised  that  they  might 
deceive,  and  flattered  with  the  intention  to  betray.  How 
ever  strong  may  be  my  present  purpose  to  realize  the 
expectations  of  a  magnanimous  and  confiding  people,  I 
too  well  understand  the  dangerous  temptations  to  which 
I  shall  be  exposed,  fron  the  magnitude  of  the  power  which 
it  has  been  the  pleasure  of  the  people  to  commit  to  my 
hands,  not  to  place  my  chief  confidence  upon  the  aid  of 
that  Almighty  power  which  has  hitherto  protected  me, 
and  enabled  me  to  bring  to  favorable  issues  other  impor 
tant  but  still  greatly  inferior  trusts}  heretofore  confided  to 
me  by  my  country. 

The  broad  foundation  upon  which  our  Constitution 
rests  being  the  people — a  breath  of  theirs  having  made, 
as  a  breath  can  unmake,  change  or  modify  it — -it  can  be 
assigned  to  none  of  the  great  divisions  of  Government, 
but  to  that  of  democracy.  If  such  is  its  theory,  those 
who  are  called  upon  to  administer  it  must  recognize,  as 
its  leading  principle,  the  duty  of  shaping  their  measures 
so  as  to  produce  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number. 
But,  with  these  broad  admissions,  if  we  would  compare 
the  sovereignty  acknowledged  to  exist  in  the  mass  of  our 
10* 


222  TH«  TRUE  REPUBLICAN'. 

people,  with  the  power  claimed  by  other  sovereignties, 
even  by  those  which  have  been  considered  most  purely 
democratic,  we  shall  find  a  most  essential  difference.-— 
All  others  lay  claim  to  power  limited  only  by  their  own 
will.  The  majority  of  our  citizens,  on  the  contrary,  pos 
sess  a  sovereignty  with  an  amount  of  power  precisely 
equal  to  that  which  has  been  granted  to  them  by  the  par 
ties  to  the  national  compact,  and  nothing  beyond.  We 
admit  of  no  Government  by  divine  right.  Believing  that, 
so  far  as  power  is  concerned,  the  Beneficent  Creator  has 
made  no  distinction  amongst  men,  that  all  are  upon  an 
equality,  and  that  the  only  legitimate  right  to  govern  is 
an  express  grant  of  power  from  the  governed.  The  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  is  the  instrument  containing 
this  grant  of  power  to  the  several  departments  composing 
the  Government.  On  an  examination  of  that  instrument, 
it  will  be  found  to  contain  declarations  of  power  granted 
and  of  power  withheld.  The  latter  is  also  susceptible  of 
division,  into  power  which  the  majority  had  the  right  to 
grant,  but  which  they  did  not  think  proper  to  intrust  to 
their  agents,  and  that  which  they  could  not  have  granted, 
not  being  possessed  by  themselves.  In  other  words, 
there  are  certain  rights  possessed  by  each  individual  Ame 
rican  citizen,  which,  in  his  compact  with  the  others,  he 
has  never  surrendered.  Some  of  them,  indeed,  he  is  un 
able  to  surrender,  being  in  the  language  of  our  system  un- 
alienable.  The  boasted  privilege  of  a  Roman  citizen  was 
to  him  a  shield  only  against  a  petty  provincial  ruler, 
whilst  the  proud  democrat  of  Athens  could  console  him 
self  under  the  sentence  of  death,  for  a  supposed  violation 
of  the  national  faith,  which  no  one  understood,  and  which 
at  times  was  the  subject  of  the  mockery  of  all,  or  the  ba 
nishment  from  his  home,  his  family  and  his  country,  with 
or  without  an  alleged  cause  ;  that  it  was  the  act,  not  of  a 
single  tyrant,  or  hated  aristocracy,  but  of  his  assembled 
countrymen.  Far  different  is  the  power  of  our  sove 
reignty.  It  can  interfere  with  no  one's  faith,  prescribe 
forms  of  worship  for  no  one's  observance,  inflict  no  pun 
ishment  but  after  well  ascertained  guilt,  the  result  of  in 
vestigation  under  rules  prescribed  by  the  Constitution  it 
self.  These  precious  privileges,  and  those  scarcely  less 


HARRISON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  223 

important,  of  giving  expression  to  his  thoughts  and  opin 
ions,  either  by  writing  or  speaking,  unrestrained  but  by 
the  liability  for  injury  to  others,  and  that  of  a  full  partici 
pation  in  all  the  advantages  which  flow  from  the  Govern 
ment,  the  acknowledged  property  of  all,  the  American 
citizen  derives  from  no  charter  granted  by  his  fellow  man. 
He  claims  them  because  he  is  himself  a  man,  fashioned 
by  the  same  Almighty  hand  as  the  rest  of  his  species, 
and  entitled  to  a  full  share  of  the  blessings  with  which  he 
has  endowed  them.  Notwithstanding  the  limited  sove 
reignty  possessed  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  restricted  grant  of  power  to  the  Government  which 
they  have  adopted,  enough  has  been  given  to  accomplish 
all  the  objects  for  which  it  was  created.  It  has  been 
found  powerful  in  war,  and,  hitherto,  justice  has  been  ad 
ministered,  an  intimate  union  effected,  domestic  tranquil 
lity  preserved,  and  personal  liberty  secured  to  the  citi 
zen.  As  was  to  be  expected,  however,  from  the  defect 
of  language,  and  the  necessarily  sententious  manner  in 
which  the  Constitution  is  written,  disputes  have  arisen  as 
to  the  amount  of  power  which  it  has  actually  granted,  or 
was  intended  to  grant. 

This  is  more  particularly  the  case  in  relation  to  that 
part  of  the  instrument  which  treats  of  the  legislative 
branch.  And  not  only  as  regards  the  exercise  of  powers 
claimed  under  a  general  clause,  giving  that  body  the  au 
thority  to  pass  all  laws  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  the 
specified  powers,  but  in  relation  to  the  latter  also.  It  is, 
however,  consolatory  to  reflect,  that  most  of  the  instances 
of  alleged  departure  from  the  letter  or  spirit  of  the  Consti 
tution,  have  ultimately  received  the  sanction  of  a  majority 
of  the  people.  And  the  fact  that  many  of  our  statesmen, 
most  distinguished  for  talent  and  patriotism,  have  been, 
at  one  time  or  other  of  their  political  career,  on  both  sides 
of  each  of  the  most  warmly  disputed  questions,  forces  upon 
us  the  inference  that  the  errors  if  errors  they  were,  are  at 
tributable  to  the  intrinsic  difficulty,  in  many  instances,  of 
ascertaining  the  intentions  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution, 
rather  than  the  influence  of  any  sinister  or  unpatriotic  mo 
tive.  But  the  great  danger  to  our  institutions  does  not 
appear  to  me  to  be  in  a  usurpation  by  the  Government  of 


224 


THE   TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 


power  not  granted  by  the  people,  but  by  the  accumulation 
in  one  of  the  departments,  of  that  which  was  assigned  to 
others.  Limited  as  are  the  powers  which  have  been 
granted,  still  enough  have  been  granted  to  constitute  a 
despotism,  if  concentrated  in  one  of  the  departments. 
This  danger  is  greatly  heightened,  as  it  has  been  always 
observable  that  men  are  less  jealous  of  encroachments  of 
one  department  upon  another,  than  upon  their  own  re 
served  rights.  When  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
first  came  from  the  hands  of  the  Contention  which  form 
ed  it,  many  of  the  sternest  republicans  of  the  day  were 
alarmed  at  the  extent  of  the  power  which  had  been  grant 
ed  to  the  federal  government,  and  more  particularly  of  that 
portion  which  had  been  assigned  to  the  Executive  branch. 
There  were  in  it  features  which  appeared  not  to  beinhar 
mony  with  their  ideas  of  a  simple  representative  of  De 
mocracy,  or  Republic.  And  knowing  the  tendency  of 
power  to  increase  itself,  particularly  when  exercised  by 
a  single  individual,  predictions  were  made  that,  at  no  very 
remote  period,  the  Government  would  terminate  in  virtual 
monarchy.  It  would  not  become  me  to  say  that  the  fears 
of  these  patriots  have  been  already  realized.  But,  as  I 
sincerely  believe  that  the  tendency  of  measures,  and  of 
men's  opinions,  for  some  years  past,  has  been  in  that  di 
rection,  it  is,  I  conceive,  strictly  proper  that  I  should  take 
this  occasion  to  repeat  the  assurances  I  have  heretofore 
given,  of  my  determination  to  arrest  the  progress  of  that 
tendency,  if  it  really  exists,  and  restore  the  Government  to 
its  pristine  health  and  vigor,  as  far  as  this  can  be  effected 
in  any  legitimate  exercise  of  the  power  placed  in  my 
hands. 

I  proceed  to  state,  in  as  summary  a  manner  .as  I  can,  my 
opinion  of  the  sources  of  the  evils  which  have  been  so  ex 
tensively  complained  of,  and  the  correctives  which  may 
be  applied.  Some  of  the  former  are  unquestionably  to  be 
found  in  the  defects  of  the  Constitution  ;  others,  in  my 
judgment,  are  attributable  to  a  misconstruction  of  some 
of  its  provisions.  Of  the  former  is  the  eligibility  of  the 
same  individual  to  a  second  term  of  the  Presidency.  The 
sagacious  mind  of  Mr.  Jefferson  early  saw  and  lamented 
this  error,  and  attempts  have  been  made,  hitherto  without 


HARRISON  rf  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  2 '25 

success,  to  apply  the  amendatory  power  of  the  States,  to 
its  correction.  As,  however,  one  mode  of  correction  is 
in  the  power  of  every  President,  and  consequently  in 
mine,  it  would  be  useless,  and  perhaps  invidious  to  enu 
merate  the  evils  of  which,  in  the  opinion  of  many  of  our 
fellow-citizens,  this  error  of  the  sages  who  framed  the 
Constitution,  may  have  been  the  source,  and  the  bitter 
fruits  which  we  are  still  to  gather  from  it,  if  it  continues 
to  disfigure  our  system.  It  may  be  observed,  however, 
as  a  general  remark,  that  republics  can  commit  no  greater 
error  than  to  adopt  or  continue  any  feature  in  their  sys 
tems  of  government  which  may  be  calculated  to  create  or 
increase  the  love  of  power  in  the  bosoms  of  those  to  whom 
necessity  obliges  them  to  commit  the  management  of  their 
affairs.  And  surely  nothing  is  more  likely  to  produce 
such  a  state  of  mind  than  the  long  continuance  of  an  office 
of  high  trust.  Nothing  can  be  more  corrupting. 
Nothing  more  destructive  of  all  those  noble  feel 
ings  which  belong  to  the  character  of  a  devoted  re 
publican  patriot.  When  this  corrupting  passion  once 
takes  possession  of  the  human  mind,  like  the  love  of  gold, 
it  becomes  insatiable.  It  is  the  never-dying  worm  in  his 
bosom,  grows  with  his  growth  and  strengthens  with  the 
declining  years  of  its  victim.  If  this  is  true,  it  is  the  part 
of  wisdom  for  a  Republic  to  limit  the  service  of  that  offi 
cer,  at  least,  to  whom  she  has  en-trusted  the  management 
of  her  foreign  relations,  the  execution  of  her  laws,  and 
the  command  of  her  armies  and  navies,  to  a  period  so 
short  as  to  prevent  his  forgetting  that  he  is  the  accounta 
ble  agent,  not  the  principal ;  the  servant  not  the  master. 
Until  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution  can  be  effected, 
public  opinion  may  secure  the  desired  object.  I  give  my 
aid  to  it,  by  renewing  the  pledge  heretofore  given,  that  un 
der  no  circumstances,  will  I  consent  to  serve  a  second  term. 
But  if  there  is  danger  to  public  liberty  from  the  ac 
knowledged  defects  of  the  Constitution,  in  the  want  of 
limit  to  the  continuance  of  the  Executive  power  in  the 
same  hands,  there  is,  I  apprehend,  not  much  less  from  a 
misconstruction  of  that  instrument,  as  it  regards  the 
powers  actually  given.  I  cannot  conceive  that  by  a  fair 
construction,  any  or  either  of  its  provisions  would  be 


226  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

found  to  constitute  the  President  a  part  of  the  legislative 
power.  It  cannot  be  claimed  from  the  power  to  recom 
mend,  since,  although  enjoined  as  a  duty  upon  him,  it  is 
a  privilege  which  he  holds  in  common  with  every  other 
citizen.  And  although  there  may  be  something  more  of 
confidence  in  the  propriety  of  the  measures  recommended 
in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other,  in  the  obligations  of 
ultimate  decision  there  can  be  no  difference.  In  the  lan 
guage  of  the  Constitution,  "  all  the  legislative  powers" 
which  it  grants  "  are  vested  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States."  It  would  be  a  solecism  in  language  to  say  that 
any  portion  of  these  is  not  included  in  the  whole. 

It  may  be  said,  indeed,  that  the  Constitution  has  given 
the  Executive  the  power  to  annul  the  acts  of  the  legisla 
tive  body,  by  refusing  to  them  his  assent.  So  a  similar 
power  has  necessarily  resulted  from  that  instrument  to 
the  judiciary,  and  yet  the  judiciary  forms  no  part  of  the 
legislature.  There  is,  it  is  true,  this  difference  between 
these  grants  of  power;  the  Executive  can  put  his  nega 
tive  upon  the  acts  of  the  legislature  for  other  causes  than 
that  of  want  of  conformity  to  the  Constitution,  whilst  the 
judiciary  can  only  declare  void  those  which  violate  that 
instrument.  But  the  decision  of  the  judiciary  is  final  in 
such  a  case,  whereas  in  every  instance  where  the  veto  of 
the  Executive  is  applied  it  may  be  overcome  by  a  vote  of 
two-thirds  of  both  Houses  of  Congress.  The  negative 
upon  the  acts  of  the  legislature,  by  the  Executive  autho 
rity,  and  that  in  the  hands  of  one  individual,  would  seem 
to  be  an  incongruity  in  our  system.  Like  some  others  of 
a  similar  character,  however,  it  appears  to  be  highly  ex 
pedient,  and  if  used  only  with  the  forbearance,  and  in  the 
spirit  which  was  intended  by  its  authors,  it  may  be  pro 
ductive  of  great  good,  and  be  found  one  of  the  be»t  safe 
guards  to  the  Union.  At  the  period  of  the  formation  of 
the  Constitution,  the  principle  does  not  appear  to  have 
enjoyed  much  favor  in  the  State  Governments.  It  existed 
but  in  two,  and  in  one  of  these  there  was  a  plural  Execu 
tive.  If  we  should  search  for  the  motives  which  ope 
rated  upon  the  purely  patriotic  and  enlightened  assembly 
which  framed  the  Constitution,  for  the  adoption  of  a  pro 
vision  so  apparently  repugnant  to  the  leading  democratic 


HARRISON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  227 

principles,  that  the  majority  should  govern,  we  must  re 
ject  the  idea  that  they  anticipated  from  it  any  benefit  to 
the  ordinary  course  of  legislation.  They  knew  too  well 
the  high  degree  of  intelligence  which  existed  among  the 
people,  and  the  enlightened  character  of  the  State  Legis 
latures,  not  to  have  the  fullest  confidence  that  the  two  bo 
dies  elected  by  them  would  be  worthy  representatives  of 
such  constituents,  and,  of  course,  that  they  would  require 
no  aid  in  .conceiving  and  maturing  measures  which  the 
circumstances  of  ihe  country  might  require.  And  it  is 
preposterous  to  suppose  that  a  thought  could  for  a  mo 
ment  have  been  entertained,  that  the  President,  placed  at 
the  Capital,  in  the  centre  of  the  country,  could  better  un 
derstand  the  wants  and  wishes  of  the  people  than  their 
own  immediate  representatives,  who  spent  a  part  of  every 
year  among  them,  living  with  them,  often  laboring  with 
them,  and  bound  to  them  by  the  triple  tie  of  interest, 
duty  and  affection.  To  assist  or  control  Congress  then 
in  its  ordinary  legislation,  could  not,  I  conceive,  have  been 
the  motive  for  conferring  the  veto  power  on  the  President. 
This  argument  acquires  additional  force  from  the  fact  of 
its  never  having  been  thus  used  by  the  first  six  Presidents, 
— and  two  of  them  were  members  of  the  Convention,  one 
presiding  over  its  deliberations,,  and  the  other  bearing  a 
larger  share  in  consummating  the  labors  of  that  august 
body  than  any  other  person,.  But  if  bills  never  were  re 
turned  to  Congress  by  either  of  the  Presidents  above  re 
ferred  to,  upon  the  ground  of  their  being  inexpedient,  or 
not  as  well  adapted  as  they  might  be  to  the  wants  of  the 
people,  the  veto  was  applied  upan  that  of  want  of  confor 
mity  to  the  Constitution,  or  because  errors  had  been  com 
mitted  from  a  too  hasty  enactment. 

There  is  another  ground  for  the  adoption  of  the  veto 
principle,  which  had  probably  more  influence  in  recom 
mending  it  to  the  Convention  than  any  other.  I  refer  to 
the  security  which  it  gives  to  the.just  and  equitable  action 
of  the  legislature  upon  all  parts  of  the  Union.  It  could 
not  but  have  occurred  to  the  Convention  that,  in  a  country 
so  extensive,  embracing  so  great  a  variety  of  soil  and  cli 
mate  and  consequently  of  products,  and  which,  from  the 
same  causes,  must  ever  exhibit  a  great  difference  in  th<? 


THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 


amount  of  the  population  of  its  various  sections,  calling 
for  a  great  diversity  in  the  employments  of  the  people, 
that  the  legislation  of  the  majority  might  not  always  just 
ly  regard  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  minority.  And 
that  acts  of  this  character  might  be  passed,  under  an  ex 
press  grant  by  the  words  of  the  Constitution,  and,  there 
fore,  not  within  the  competency  of  the  judiciary  to  declare 
void.  That  however  enlightened  and  patriotic  they  might 
suppose,  from  past  experience,  the  members  of  Congress 
might  be,  and  however  largely  partaking,  in  the  general, 
of  the  liberal  feelings  of  the  people,  it  was  impossible  to 
expect  that  bodies  so  constituted  should  not  sometimes  be 
controlled  by  local  interests  and  sectional  feelings.  It 
was  proper,  therefore,  to  provide  some  umpire,  from 
whose  situation  and  mode  of  appointment  more  indepen 
dence  and  freedom  from  such  influences  might  be  expect 
ed.  Such  a  one  was  afforded  by  the  Executive  depart-- 
ment,  constituted  by  the  Constitution.  A  person  elected 
to  that  high  office,  having  his  constituents  in  every  sec 
tion,  state  and  sub-division  of  the  Union,  must  consider 
himself  bound  by  the  most  solemn  sanctions,  to  guard, 
protect,  and  defend  the  rights  of  all,  and  of  every  portion, 
great  or  small,  from  the  injustice  and  oppression  of  the 
rest.  I  consider  the  veto  power,  therefore,  given  by  the 
Constitution  to  the  Executive  of  the  United  States,  solely 
as  a  conservative  power.  To  be  used  only,  first,  to  pro 
tect  the  Constitution  from  violation  ;  2dly,  the  people 
from  the  effects  of  hasty  legislation  where  their  will  has 
been  probably  disregarded  or  not  well  understood  ;  and, 
3dly,  to  prevent  the  effects  of  combinations  violative  of 
the  rights  of  minorities.  In  reference  to  the  second  of 
these  objects,  I  may  observe  that  I  consider  it  the  right 
and  privilege  of  the  people  to  decide  disputed  points  of 
the  Constitution,  arising  from  the  general  grant  of  power 
to  Congress  to  carry  into  effect  the  powers  expressly 
given.  And  I  believe  with  Mr.  Madison,  "  that  repeated 
recognitions,  under  varied  circumstances,  in  acts  of  the 
legislature,  executive,  and  judicial  branches  of  the  Go 
vernment,  accompanied  by  indications,  indifferent  modes, 
of  the  concurrence  of  the  general  will  of  the  nation,  as  af 
fording  to  the  President  sufficient  authority  for  his  consi 
dering  such  disputed  points  as  settled. 


HARRISON  S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.         229 

Upwards  of  half  a  century  has  elapsed  since  the  adop 
tion  of  the  present  form  of  Government.  It  would  be  an 
object  more  highly  desirable  than  the  gratification  of  the 
curiosity  of  speculative  statesmen,  if  its  precise  situation 
could  be  ascertained,  a  fair  exhibit  made  of  the  operations 
of  each  of  its  departments,  of  the  powers  which  they  re 
spectively  claim  and  exercise,  of  the  collisions  which 
have  occurred  between  them,  or  between  the  whole  Go 
vernment  and  those  of  the  States,  or  either  of  them.  We 
could  then  compare  our  actual  condition,  after  fifty  years 
trial  of  our  system,  with  what  it  was  in  the  commence 
ment  of  its  operations,  and  ascertain  whether  the  predic 
tions  of  the  patriots  who  opposed  its  adoption,  or  the  con 
fident  hopes  of  its  advocates  have  been  best  realized.  The 
great  dread  of  the  former  seems  to  have  been,  that  the  re 
served  powers  of  the  states  would  be  absorbed  by  those 
of  the  Federal  Government,  and  a  consolidated  power  es 
tablished,  leaving  to  the  states  the  shadow  only  of  that 
independent  action  for  which  they  had  so  zealously  con 
tended,  and  on  the  preservation  of  which  they  relied  as 
the  last  hope  of  liberty.  Without  denying  that  the  result 
to  which  they  looked  with  so  much  apprehension  is  in  the 
way  of  being  realized,  it  is  obvious  that  they  did  not 
clearly  see  the  mode  of  its  accomplishment.  The  gene 
ral  Government  has  seized  upon  none  of  the  reserved 
rights  of  the  states.  As  far  as  any  open  warfare  may  have 
gone,  the  state  authorities  have  amply  maintained  their 
rights.  To  a  casual  observer,  our  system  presents  no  ap 
pearance  of  discord  between  the  different  members  which 
compose  it.  Even  the  addition  of  many  new  ones  has 
produced  no  jarring.  They  move  in  their  respective  or 
bits  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  central  head,  and  with 
each  other. 

But  there  is  still  an  under  current  at  work,  by  which, 
if  not  seasonably  checked,  the  worst  apprehensions  of  our 
anti-federal  patriots  will  be  realized ;  and  not  only  will 
the  State  authorities  be  overshadowed  by  the  great  in 
crease  of  power  in  the  Executive  department  of  the  gene 
ral  Government,  but  the  character  of  that  Government,  if 
not  its  designation,  be  essentially  and  radically  changed. 
This  state  of  things  has  been  in  part  effected  by  causes 
20 


THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

inherent  in  the  Constitution  and  in  part  by  the  never  fail 
ing  tendency  of  political  power  to  increase  itself.  By 
making  the  President  the  sole  distributor  of  all  the  patron 
age  of  the  Government,  the  framers  of  the  Constitution 
do  not  appear  to  have  anticipated  at  how  short  a  period 
it  would  become  a  formidable  instrument  to  control  the 
free  operations  of  the  state  Governments.  Of  trifling  im 
portance  at  first,  it  had,  early  in  Mr.  Jefferson's  adminis 
tration,  become  so  powerful  as  to  create  great  alarm  in 
the  mind  of  that  patriot  from  the  potent  influence  it  might 
exert  in  controlling  the  freedom  of  the  elective  franchise. 
If  such  could  then  have  been  the  effects  of  its  influence, 
how  much  greater  must  be  the  danger  at  this  time,  quad 
rupled  in  amount,  as  it  certainly  is,  and  more  completely 
under  the  control  of  the  Executive  will  than  their  con 
struction  of  their  powers  allowed,  or  the  forbearing  cha 
racters  of  all  the  early  Presidents  permitted  them  to  make. 
But  it  is  not  by  the  extent  of  its  patronage  alone  that  the 
Executive  department  has  become  dangerous,  but  by  the 
use  which  it  appears  may  be  made  of  the  appointing  pow 
ers  to  bring  under  its  control  the  whole  revenues  of  the 
country.  The  Constitution  has  declared  it  to  be  the  duty 
of  the  President  to  see  that  the  laws  are  executed,  and  it 
makes  him  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Armies  and 
Navy  of  the  United  States.  If  the  opinion  of  the  most 
approved  writers  upon  that  species  of  mixed  Government, 
which,  in  modern  Europe  is  termed  monarchy  in  contra 
distinction  to  despotism,  is  correct,  there  was  wanting  no 
other  addition  to  the  powers  of  our  Chief  Magistrate  to 
stamp  a  monarchical  character  on  our  Government,  but  the 
control  of  the  public  finances.  And  to  me  it  appears 
strange,  indeed,  that  any  one  should  doubt,  that  the  en 
tire  control  which  the  President  possesses  over  the  offi 
cers  who  have  the  custody  of  the  public  money,  by  the 
power  of  removal,  with  or  without  cause,  does,  for  all 
mischievous  purposes  at  least,  virtually  subject  the  trea 
sures  also  to  his  disposal.  The  first  Roman  Emperor, 
in  his  attempt  to  seize  the  sacred  treasure,  silenced  the 
opposition  of  the  officer  to  whose  charge  it  had  been  com 
mitted  by  a  significant  allusion  to  his  sword.  By  a  se 
lection  of  political  instruments  for  the  care  of  the  public 


HARRISON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  231 

money,  a  reference  to  their  commission  by  a  President, 
would  he  quite  as  effectual  an  argument  as  that  of  Caesar 
to  the  Roman  Knight.  I  am  not  insensible  of  the  great 
difficulty  that  exists  in  drawing  a  proper  plan  for  the  safe 
keeping  and  disbursement  of  the  public  revenues,  and  I 
know  the  importance  which  has  been  attached  by  men  of 
great  abilities  and  patriotism  to  the  divorce,  as  it  is  called, 
of  the  treasury  from  the  banking  institutions.  It  is  not 
the  divorce  which  is  complained  of,  but  the  unhallowed 
union  of  the  Treasury  with  the  Executive  department, 
which  has  created  such  extensive  alarm.  To  this  danger 
to  our  republican  institutions,  and  that  created  by  the  in 
fluence  given  to  the  Executive,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  the  federal  officers,  I  propose  to  apply  all  the  remedies 
which  may  be  at  my  command.  It  was  certainly  a  great 
error  in  the  framers  of  the  Constitution,  not  to  have  made 
the  officer  at  the  head  of  the  treasury  department  entirely 
independent  of  the  Executive.  He  should  at  least  have 
been  removable  only  upon  the  demand  of  the  popular 
branch  of  the  legislature.  I  have  determined  never  to  re 
move  a  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  without  communicating 
all  the  circumstances  attending  such  removal  to  both 
Houses  of  Congress. 

The  influence  of  the  Executive  in  controlling  the  free 
dom  of  the  elective  franchise  through  the  medium  of  the 
public  officers,  can  he  effectually  checked  by  renew 
ing  the  prohibition  published  by  Mr.  Jefferson  forbid 
ding  their  interference  in  elections  further  than  giving 
their  own  votes,  and  their  own  independence  secured 
by  an  assurance  of  perfect  immunity,  in  exercising 
this  sacred  privilege  of  freemen  under  the  dictates  of 
their  own  unbiassed  judgments.  Never,  with  my  con 
sent,  shall  an  officer  of  the  people,  compensated  for  his 
services  out  of  their  pockets,  become  the  pliant  instrument 
of  Executive  will. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  means  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  Executive  which  might  be  used  with  greater  effect, 
for  unhallowed  purposes,  than  the  control  of  the  public 
press.  The  maxim  which  our  ancestors  derived  from  the 
mother  country,  that  "the  freedom  of  the  press  is  the 
great  bulwark  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,"  is  one  of  the 


232  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

most  precious  legacies  which  they  have  left  us.  We  have 
learned,  too,  from  our  own,  as  well  as  the  experience  of 
other  countries,  that  golden  shackles,  by  whomsoever  01 
by  whatever  pretence  imposed,  are  as  fatal  to  it  as  the 
iron  bonds  of  despotism.  The  presses  in  the  necessary 
employment  of  the  Government  should  never  be  \ised  "to 
clear  the  guilty,  or  to  varnish  crime."  A  decent  and 
manly  examination  of  the  acts  of  the  government  should 
be  not  only  tolerated  but  encouraged. 

Upon  another  occasion  I  have  given  my  opinion,  at 
some  length,  upon  the  impropriety  of  Executive  inter 
ference  in  the  legislation  of  Congress.  That  the  article 
in  the  Constitution  making  it  the  duty  of  the  President  to 
communicate  information,  and  authorising  him  to  recom 
mend  measures,  was  not  intended  to  make  him  the  source 
in  legislation,  and,  in  particular,  that  he  should  never  be 
looked  to  for  schemes  of  finance.  It  would  be  very 
strange,  indeed,  that  the  Constitution  should  have  strictly 
forbidden  one  branch  of  the  legislature  from  interfering  in 
the  organization  of  such  bills, 'and  that  it  should  be  consi 
dered  proper  that  an  altogether  different  department  of 
the  government  should  be  permitted  to  do  so.  Some  of 
our  best  political  maxims  and  opinions  have  been  drawn 
from  our  parent  Isle.  There  are  others,  however,  which 
cannot  be  introduced  into  our  system  without  singular 
incongruity  and  the  production  of  much  mischief.  And 
this  I  conceive  to  be  one.  No  matter  in  which  of  the 
houses  of  Parliament  a  bill  may  originate,  nor  by  whom 
introduced,  a  minister  or  a  member  of  the  opposition,  by 
the  fiction  of  law,  or  rather  of  constitutional  principle,  the 
sovereign  is  supposed  to  have  prepared  it  agreeably  to  his 
will,  and  then  submitted  it  to  Parliament  for  their  advice 
and  consent.  Now,  the  very  reverse  is  the  case  here, 
not  only  with  regard  to  the  principle,  but  the  forms  pre 
scribed  by  the  Constitution.  The  principle  certainly 
assigns  to  the  only  body  constituted  by  the  Constitution 
(the  legislative  body)  the  power  to  make  laws,  and  the 
forms  even  direct  that  the  enactment  should  be  as  ascribed 
to  them.  The  Senate  in  relation  to  revenue  bills,  have 
the  right  to  propose  amendments  ;  and  so  has  the  Execu 
tive,  by  the  power  given  him,  to  return  them  to  the  House 


HARRISON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  233 

of  Representatives  with  his  objections.  It  is  in  his  power, 
also,  to  propose  amendments  to  the  existing  revenue  laws, 
suggested  by  his  observations  upon  their  defective  or  in 
jurious  operation.  But  the  delicate  duty  of  devising 
schemes  of  revenue  should  be  left  where  the  Constitution 
has  placed  it — with  the  immediate  representatives  of  the 
people.  For  similar  reasons,  the  mode  of  keeping  the 
public  treasure  should  be  prescribed  by  them,  and  the 
farther  it  is  removed  from  the  control  of  the  Executive,  the 
more  wholesome  the  arrangement,  and  the  more  in  accor 
dance  with  republican  principle. 

Connected  with  this  subject  is  the  character  of  the  cur 
rency.  The  idea  of  making  it  exclusively  metallic,  how 
ever  well  intended,  appears  to  me  to  be  fraught  with  more 
fatal  consequences  than  any  other  scheme,  having  no  re 
lation  to  the  personal  rights  of  the  citizens,  that  has  ever 
been  devised.  If  any  single  scheme  could  produce  the 
effect  of  arresting,  at  once,  that  mutation  of  condition  by 
which  thousands  of  our  most  indigent  fellow-citizens,  by 
their  industry  and  enterprise,  are  raised  to  the  possession 
of  wealth,  that  is  the  one.  If  there  is  one  measure  better 
calculated  than  another  to  produce  that  state  of  things  so 
much  deprecated  by  all  true  Republicans,  by  which  the 
rich  are  daily  adding  to  their  hoards,  and  the  poor  sinking 
deeper  into  penury,  it  is  an  exclusive  metallic  currency. 
Or  if  there  is  a  process  by  which  the  character  of  the 
country  for  generosity  and  nobleness  of  feeling,  may  be 
destroyed  by  the  great  increase  and  necessary  toleration 
of  usury,  it  is  an  exclusive  metallic  currency. 

Amongst  the  other  duties  of  a  delicate  character  which 
the  President  is  called  upon  to  perform,  is  the  supervision 
of  the  government  of  the  Territories  of  the  United  States. 
Those  of  them  which  are  destined  to  become  members  of 
our  great  political  family,  are  compensated  by  their  rapid 
progress  from  infancy  to  manhood,  for  the  partial  and  tem 
porary  deprivation  of  their  political  rights.  It  is  in  this  Dis 
trict  only,  where  American  citizens  can  be  found,  who,  un 
der  a  settled  policy, are  deprived  of  many  important  political 
privileges,  without  inspiring  hope  as  to  the  future.  Their 
only  consolation  under  circumstances  of  such  deprivation, 
is  that  of  the  devoted  exterior  guards  of  a  camp — that 
20* 


234  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

their  sufferings  secure  tranquillity  and  safety  within. — 
Are  there  any  of  their  countrymen  who  would  subject 
them  to  greater  sacrifices,  to  any  other  humiliations  than 
those  essentially  necessary 'to  the  security  of  the  object 
for  which  they  were  thus  separated  from  their  fellow 
citizens  ?  Are  their  rights  alone  not  to  be  guaranteed  by 
the  application  of  those  great  principles  upon  which  all 
our  Constitutions  are  founded  ?  We  are  told  by  the 
greatest  of  British  orators  and  statesmen,  that  at  the  com 
mencement  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  the  most  stupid 
men  in  England  spoke  of  "  their  American  subjects." — 
Are  there  indeed  citizens  of  any  of  our  States  who  have 
dreamed  of  their  subjects  in  the  District  of  Columbia? 
Such  dreams  can  never  be  realized  by  any  agency  of 
mine.  The  people  of  the  District  of  Columbia  are  not 
the  subjects  of  the  people  of  the  States,  but  free  American 
citizens.  Being  in  the  latter  condition  when  the  Consti 
tution  was  formed,  no  words  used  in  that  instrument  could 
have  been  intended  to  deprive  them  of  that  character.  If 
there  is  any  thing  in  the  great  principle  of  unalienable 
rights,  so  emphatically  insisted  upon  in  our  Declaration 
of  Independence,  they  could  neither  make,  nor  the  Uni 
ted  States  accept,  a  surrender  of  their  liberties,  and  be 
come  the  subjects,  in  other  words,  the  slaves,  of  their 
former  fellow-citizens.  If  this  be  true  (and  it  will  scarce 
ly  be  denied  by  any  one  who  has  a  correct  idea  of  his 
own  rights  as  an  American  citizen)  the  grant  to  Congress 
of  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  the  District  of  Columbia  can 
be  interpreted,  so  far  as  respects  the  aggregate  people  of 
the  United  States,  as  meaning  nothing  more  than  to  allow 
to  Congress  the  controlling  power  necessary  to  afford  a 
free  and  safe  exercise  of  the  functions  assigned  to  the  ge 
neral  Government  by  the  Constitution.  In  all  other  re 
spects,  the  legislation  of  Congress  should  be  adapted  to 
their  peculiar  condition  and  wants,  and  be  conformable 
with  their  deliberate  opinions  of  their  own  interests. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  necessity  of  keeping  the  respec 
tive  departments  of  the  Government,  as  well  as  all  the 
other  authorities  of  our  country,  within  their  appropriate 
orbits.  This  is  a  matter  of  difficulty  in  some  cases,  as 
the  powers  which  they  respectively  claim  are  often  not. 
defined  by  any  distinct  lines.  Mischievous,  however,  in 


HARRISON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  235 

their  tendencies,  as  collisions  of  this  kind  may  be,  those 
•which  arise  between  the  respective  communities  which, 
for  certain  purposes,  compose  one  nation,  are  much  more 
so  ;  for  no  such  nation  can  long  exist  without  the  careful 
culture  of  those  feelings  of  confidence  and  affection  which 
are  the  effective  bonds  of  union  between  free  and  confe 
derated  states.  Strong  as  is  the  tie  of  interest,  it  has 
been  often  found  ineffectual.  Men,  blinded  by  their  pas 
sions,  have  been  known  to  adopt  measures  for  their  coun 
try  in  direct  opposition  to  all  the  suggestions  of  policy. 
The  alternative,  then,  is,  to  destroy  or  keep  down  a  bad 
passion  by  creating  and  fostering  a  good  one  ;  and  this 
seems  to  be  the  corner-stone  upon  which  our  American 
political  architects  have  reared  the  fabric  of  our  Govern 
ment.  The  cement  which  was  to  bind  it,  and  perpetuate 
its  existence,  was  the  affectionate  attachment  between  all 
its  members.  To  insure  the  continuance  of  this  feeling 
produced  at  first  by  a  community  of  dangers,  of  suffer 
ings,  and  of  interests,  the  advantages  of  each  were  made 
accessible  to  all.  No  participation  in  any  good,  possess 
ed  by  any  member  of  our  extensive  confederacy,  except 
in  domestic  government,  was  withheld  from  the  citizen 
of  any  other  member.  By  a  process  attended  with  no  dif 
ficulty,  no  delays,  no  expense  but  that  of  removal, the  citi 
zen  of  one  might  become  the  citizen  of  any  other,  and  suc 
cessively  of  the  whole.  The  lines,  too,  separating  powers 
to  be  exercised  by  the  citizens  of  one  state  from  those  of 
another,  seemed  to  be  so  distinctly  drawn  as  to  leave  no 
room  for  misunderstanding.  The  citizens  of  each  state 
unite  in  their  persons  all  the  privileges  which  that  cha 
racter  confers,  and  all  that  they  may  claim  as  citizens  of 
the  United  States ;  but  in  no  case  can  the  same  person, 
at  the  same  time,  act  as  the  citizen  of  two  separate  states, 
and  he  is  therefore  positively  precluded  from  any  inter 
ference  with  the  reserved  powers  of  any  state  but  that 
of  which  he  is,  for  the  time  being,  a  citizen.  He  may 
indeed  offer  to  the  citizens  of  other  states  his  advice  as  to 
their  management,  and  the  form  in  which  it  is  tendered  is 
left  to  his  own  discretion  and  sense  of  propriety.  It  may  be 
observed,  however,  that  organized  associations  of  citizens, 
requiring  compliance  with  their  wishes,  too  much  resemble 
the  recommendations  of  Athens  to  her  allies — supported 


236  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

by  an  armed  and  powerful  fleet.  It  was,  indeed,  to  the 
ambition  of  the  leading  states  of  Greece  to  control  the  do 
mestic  concerns  of  the  others,  that  the  destruction  of  that 
celebrated  confederacy,  and  subsequently  of  all  its  mem 
bers,  is  mainly  to  be  attributed.  And  it  is  owing  to  the 
absence  of  that  spirit  that  the  Helvetic  confederacy  has 
for  so  many  years  been  preserved.  Never  has  there  been 
seen  in  the  institutions  of  the  separate  members  of  any 
confederacy  more  elements  of  discord.  In  the  principles 
and  forms  of  government  and  religion,  as  well  as  in  the 
circumstances  of  the  several  cantons,  so  marked  a  discre 
pance  was  observable,  as  to  promise  any  thing  but  har 
mony  in  their  intercourse,  or  permanency  in  their  alliance; 
and  yet,  for  ages  neither  has  been  interrupted.  Content 
with  the  positive  benefits  which  their  union  produced, 
with  the  independence  and  safety  from  foreign  aggression 
which  it  secured,  these  sagacious  people  respected  the  in 
stitutions  of  each  other,  however  repugnant  to  their  own 
principles  and  prejudices. 

Our  confederacy,  fellow-citizens,  can  only  be  preserved 
by  the  same  forbearance.  Our  citizens  must  be  content 
with  the  exercise  of  the  powers  with  which  the  Consti 
tution  clothes  them.  The  attempt  of  those  of  one  state 
to  control  the  domestic  institutions  of  another,  can  only 
result  in  feelings  of  distrust  and  jealousy,  the  certain  har 
bingers  of  disunion,  violence,  civil  war,  and  the  ultimate 
destruction  of  our  free  institutions.  Our  confederacy  is 
perfectly  illustrated  by  the  terms  and  principles  governing 
a  common  co-partnership.  There  is  a  fund  of  power  to 
be  exercised  under  the  direction  of  the  joint  councils  ot 
the  allied  members,  but  that  which  has  been  reserved  by 
the  individual  members  is  intangible  by  the  common  go 
vernment,  or  the  individual  members  composing  it.  To 
attempt  it  finds  no  support  in  the  principles  of  our  Con 
stitution. 

It  should  be  our  constant  and  earnest  endeavor  mutual 
ly  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  concord  and  harmony  among  the 
various  parts  of  our  confederacy.  Experience  has  abun 
dantly  taught  us,  that  the  -agitation,  by  citizens  of  one 
part  of  the  Union,  of  a  subject  not  confided  to  the  gene 
ral  Government,  but  exclusively  under  the  guardianship 


HARRISON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  237 

of  the  local  authorities,  is  productive  of  no  other  conse 
quences  than  bitterness,  alienation,  discord,  and  injury 
to  the  very  cause  which  is  intended  to  be  advanced.  Of 
all  the  great  interests  which  appertain  to  our  country, 
that  of  union — cordial,  confiding,  fraternal  union — is  by 
far  the  most  important,  since  it  is  the  only  true  and  sure 
guaranty  of  all  others. 

In  consequence  of  the  embarrassed  state  of  business  and 
the  currency,  some  of  the  states  may  meet  with  difficulty 
in  their  financial  concerns.  However  deeply  we  may  re 
gret  any  thing  imprudent  or  excessive,  in  the  engagements 
into  which  states  have  entered  for  purposes  of  their  own, 
it  does  not  become  us  to  disparage  the  state  Governments, 
nor  to  discourage  them  from  making  proper  efforts  for 
their  own  relief.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  our  duty  to  en 
courage  them,  to  the  extent  of  our  constitutional  authority, 
to  apply  their  best  means,  and  cheerfully  to  make  all  ne 
cessary  sacrifices,  and  submit  to  all  necessary  burdens, 
to  fulfil  their  engagements  and  maintain  their  credit ;  for 
the  character  and  credit  of  the  several  states  form  a 
part  of  the  character  and  credit  of  the  whole  country. 
The  resources  of  the  country  are  abundant ;  the  enter 
prise  and  activity  of  our  people  proverbial ;  and  we 
may  well  hope  that  wise  legislation  and  prudent  adminis 
tration,  by  the  respective  governments,  each  acting  within 
its  own  sphere,  will  restore  former  prosperity. 

Unpleasant  and  even  dangerous  as  collisions  may  some 
times  be  between  the  constituted  authorities  or  the  citi 
zens  of  our  country,  in  relation  to  the  lines  which  sepa 
rate  their  respective  jurisdictions,  the  results  can  be  of 
no  vital  injury  to  our  institutions,  if  that  ardent  patriotism, 
that  devoted  attachment  to  liberty,  that  spirit  of  modera 
tion  and  forbearance  for  which  our  countrymen  were 
once  distinguished,  continue  to  be  cherished.  If  this  con 
tinues  to  be  the  ruling  passion  of  our  souls,  the  weaker 
feeling  of  the  mistaken  enthusiast  will  be  corrected,  the 
Utopian  dreams  of  the  scheming  politician  dissipated,  and 
the  complicated  intrigues  of  the  demagogue  rendered 
harmless.  The  spirit  of  liberty  is  the  sovereign  balm  for 
every  injury  which  our  institutions  may  receive.  On  the 
contrary,  no  care  that  can  be  used  in  the  construction  of 
our  Government,  no  division  of  powers,  no  distribution 


238  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN1. 

of  checks  in  its  several  departments,  will  prove  effectual 
to  keep  us  a  free  people,  if  this  spirit  is  suffered  to  decay ; 
and  decay  it  will  without  constant  nurture.  To  the  neg 
lect  of  this  duty  the  best  historians  agree  in  attributing 
the  ruin  of  all  the  republics  with  whose  existence  and  fall 
their  writings  have  made  us  acquainted. 

The  same  causes  will  ever  produce  the  same  effects ; 
and  as  long  as  the  love  of  power  is  a  dominant  passion  of 
the  human  bosom,  and  as  long  as  the  understandings  of 
men  can  be  warped  and  their  affections  changed,  by  ope 
rations  upon  their  passions  and  prejudices,  so  long  will 
the  liberties  of  a  people  depend  on  their  own  constant 
attention  to  its  preservation.  The  danger  to  all  well- 
established  free  Governments  arises  from  the  unwilling 
ness  of  the  people  to  believe  in  its  existence,  or  from  the 
influence  of  designing  men,  diverting  their  attention  from 
th-e  quarter  whence  it  approaches  to  a  source  from  which 
it  can  never  come.  This  is  the  old  trick  of  those  who 
would  usurp  the  government  of  their  country.  In  the 
name  of  democracy  they  speak,  warning  the  people  against 
the  influence  of  wealth,  and  the  danger  of  aristocracy. 
History,  ancient  and  modern,  is  full  of  such  examples. 
Caesar  became  the  master  of  the  Roman  people  and  the 
Senate,  under  the  pretence  of  supporting  the  democratic 
claims  of  the  former  against  the  aristocracy  of  the  latter. 
Cromwell,  in  the  character  of  Protector  of  the  liberties 
of  the  people,  became  the  Director  of  England,  and 
Bolivar  possessed  himself  of  unlimited  power  with  the 
title  of  his  country's  Liberator.  There  is,  on  the  contrary, 
no  single  instance  on  record,  of  an  extensive  and  well-es 
tablished  republic  being  changed  into  an  aristocracy. 
The  tendencies  of  all  such  governments,  in  their  decline, 
is  to  monarchy  :  and  the  antagonist  principle  to  liberty, 
there,  is  the  spirit  of  faction — a  spirit  which  assumes  the 
character,  and  in  times  of  great  excitement  imposes  itself 
upon  the  people  as  the  genuine  spirit  of  freedom,  and, 
like  the  false  Christs,  whose  coming  was  foretold  by  the 
Saviour,  seeks,  and  were  it  possible,  would  impose  upon  the 
true  and  most  faithful  disciples  of  liberty.  It  is  in  periods 
like  this  that  it  behooves  the  people  to  be  most  watchful  of 
those  to  whom  they  have  entrusted  power.  And  although 


239 

there  is  at  times  much  difficulty  in  distinguishing  the  false 
from  the  true  spirit,  a  calm  and  dispassionate  investigation 
will  detect  the  counterfeit,  as  well  by  the  character  of  its 
operations,  as  the  results  that  are  produced.  The  true 
spirit  of  liberty,  although  devoted,  persevering,  bold,  and 
uncompromising  in  principle — that  secured — is  mild,  and 
tolerant,  and  scrupulous  as  to  the  means  it  employs ; 
whilst  the  spirit  of  party,  assuming  to  be  that  of  liberty, 
is  harsh,  vindictive  and  intolerant,  and  totally  reckless  as 
to  the  character  of  the  allies  which  it  brings  to  the  aid  of 
Us  cause.  When  the  genuine  spirit  of  liberty  animates 
the  body  of  a  people  to  a  thorough  examination  of  their 
affairs,  it  leads  to  the  excision  of  every  excrescence  which 
may  have  fastened  itself  upon  any  of  the  departments 
of  the  Government,  and  restores  the  system  to  its  pristine 
health  and  beauty.  But  the  reign  of  an  intolerant  spirit 
of  party,  amongst  a  free  people,  seldom  fails  to  result  in 
a  dangerous  accession  to  the  Executive  power — intro 
duced  and  established  amidst  unusual  professions  of  devo 
tion  to  democracy. 

The  foregoing  remarks  relate,  almost  exclusively,  to 
matters  connected  with  our  domestic  concerns.  It  may 
be  proper,  however,  that  I  should  give  some  indications 
to  my  fellow-citizens  of  my  proposed  course  of  conduct 
in  the  management  of  our  "foreign  relations.  I  assure 
them,  therefore,  that  it  is  my  intention  to  use  every  means 
in  my  power  to  preserve  the  friendly  intercourse  which 
now  so  happily  subsists  with  every  foreign  nation.  And 
that  although,  of  course,  not  well  informed  as  to  the  state 
of  pending  negotiations  with  any  of  them,  I  see,  in  the 
personal  characters  of  their  sovereigns,  as  well  as  in  the 
mutual  interests  of  our  own,  and  of  the  governments  with 
which  our  relations  are  most  intimate,  a  pleasing  guaranty 
that  the  harmony  so  important  to  the  interests  of  their 
subjects,  as  wel;  as  of  our  citizens,  will  not  be  interrupted 
by  the  advancement  of  any  claim  or  pretension  upon  their 
part  to  which  our  honor  would  not  permit  us  to  yield. — 
Long  the  defender  of  my  country's  rights  in  the  field,  I 
trust  that  my  fellow  citizens  will  not  see,  in  my  earnest 
desire  to  preserve  peace  with  foreign  powers,  any  indi 
cation  that  their  rights  will  ever  be  sacrificed,  or  the 


240  THE    TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

honor  of  the  nation  tarnished,  by  any  admission  on  the 
part  of  their  Chief  Magistrate,  unworthy  of  their  former 
glory.  In  our  intercourse  with  our  aboriginal  neighbours, 
the  same  liberality  and  justice  which  marked  the  course 
prescribed  to  me  by  two  of  my  illustrious  predecessors, 
when  acting  under  their  direction  in  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  Superintendent  and  Commissioner,  shall  be 
strictly  observed.  I  can  conceive  of  no  more  sublime 
spectacle — none  more  likely  to  propitiate  an  impartial  and 
common  Creator — than  a  rigid  adherence  to  the  principles 
of  justice,  on  the  part  of  a  powerful  nation,  in  its  transac 
tion  with  a  weaker  and  uncivilized  people, whom  circum 
stances  have  placed  at  its  disposal. 

Before  concluding,  fellow  citizens,  I  must  say  some 
thing  to  you  on  the  subject  of  the  parties  at  this  time  ex 
isting  in  our  country.  To  me  it  appears  perfectly  clear 
that  the  interest  of  that  country  requires  that  the  violence  of 
the  spirit  by  which  those  parties  are  at  this  time  governed, 
must  be  greatly  mitigated,  if  not  entirely  extinguished  or 
consequences  will  ensue  which  areapalling  to  be  thought  of. 

If  parties  in  a  Republic  are  necessary  to  secure  a  degree 
of  vigilance  sufficient  to  keep  the  public  functionaries 
within  the  bounds  of  law  and  duty,  at  that  point  their  use 
fulness  ends:  beyond  that,  jhey  become  destructive  of 
public  virtue,  the  parent  of  a  spirit  antagonist  to  that  of 
liberty,  and  eventually  its  inevitable  conqueror.  We 
have  examples  of  republics,  where  the  love  of  country 
and  of  liberty  at  one  time  were  the  dominant  passions  of 
the  whole  mass  of  citizens,  and  yet,  with  the  continuance 
of  the  name  and  forms  of  free  government,  not  a  vestige  of 
these  qualities  remaining  in  the  bosoms  of  any  one  of 
its  citizens.  It  was  the  beautiful  remark  of  a  distin 
guished  English  writer,  that  "In  the  Roman  Senate, 
Octavius  had  a  party,  and  Anthony  a  party,  but  the 
Commonwealth  had  none."  Yet  the  Senate  con 
tinued  to  meet  in  the  Temple  of  Liberty,  to  talk  of  the 
sacredness  and  beauty  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  gaze 
at  the  statues  of  the  elder  Brutus  and  of  the  Curtii  and 
Decii ;  and  the  people  assembled  in  the  forum,  not  as  in 
the  days  of  Camillus  and  the  Scipios,  to  cast  their  free 
votes  for  annual  magistrates,  or  pass  upon  the  acts  of  the 


HARRISON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.  241 

Senate,  but  to  receive  from  the  hands  of  the  leaders  of 
the  respective  paties  their  share  of  the  spoils,  and  to  shout 
for  one  or  the  other,  as  those  collected  in  Gaul  or  Egypt 
and  the  lesser  Asia  would  furnish  the  larger  dividend. 
The  spirit  of  liberty  had  fled,  and  avoiding  the  abodes  of 
civilized  man  had  sought  protection  in  the  wilds  of  Scy  thia 
Scandinavia.  And  so  under  the  operation  of  the  same 
causes  and  influences  it  will  fly  from  our  Capital  and  our 
forums.  A  calamity  so  awful,  not  only  to  our  country, 
but  to  the  world,  must  be  deprecated  by  every  patriot, 
and  every  tendency  to  a  stale  of  things  likely  to  produce 
it  immediately  checked.  Such  a  tendency  has  existed — 
does  exist.  Always  the  friend  of  my  countrymen,  never 
their  flatterer,  it  becomes  my  duty  to  say  to  them,  from 
this  high  place  to  which  their  partiality  has  exalted  me, 
that  there  exists  in  the  land  a  spirit  hostile  to  their  best 
interests — hostile  to  liberty  itself.  It  is  a  spirit  contracted 
in  its  views — selfish  in  its  objects.  It  looks  to  the 
aggrandizement  of  a  few  even  to  the  destruction  of  the 
interest  of  the  whole. 

The  entire  remedy  is  with  the  people.  Something, 
however,  may  be  effected,  by  the  means  which  they  have 
placed  in  my  hands.  It  is  union  that  we  want,  not  of  a 
party  for  the  sake  of  that  party,  but  a  union  of  the  whole 
country,  for  the  sake  of  the  whole  country.  For  the  de 
fence  of  its  interests  and  its  honor  against  foreign  aggres 
sion—lor  ihe  defence  of  those  principles  for  which  our 
ancestors  so  gloriously  contended.  As  far  as  it  depends 
upon  me,  it  shall  be  accomplished.  All  the  influence  that 
I  possess  shall  be  exerted  to  prevent  the  formation  at 
least  of  an  Executive  party  in  the  halls  of  the  legislative 
body.  I  wish  for  the  support  of  no  member  of  that  body 
to  any  measure  of  mine  that  does  not  satisfy  his  judgment 
and  his  sense  of  duty  to  those  from  whom  he  holds  his 
appointment.  Nor  any  confidence  in  advance  from  the 
people  but  that  asked  for  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  *«  to  give 
firmness  and  effect  to  the  leo-al  administration  of  their  af 
fairs.'1 

I  deem  the  present  occasion  sufficiently  important  and 
solemn  to  justify  me  in  expressing  to  my  fellow-citizens 
a  profound  reverence  for  the  Christian  religion,  and  a 
21 


2-12  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

thorough  conviction  that  sound  morals,  religious  liberty, 
and  a  just  sense  of  religious  responsibility,  are  essential 
ly  connected  with  all  true  and  lasting  happiness.  And  to 
that  good  Being  who  has  blessed  us  by  the  gifts  of  civil 
and  religious  freedom — who  watched  over  and  prospered 
the  labors  of  our  fathers,  and  has  hitherto  preserved  to 
us  institutions  far  exceeding  in  excellence  those  of  any 
other  people,  let  us  unite  in  fervently  commending  every 
interest  of  our  beloved  country  in  all  future  time.  [Oath 
administered.]} 

Fellow-citizens :  Being  fully  invested  with  that  high  of 
fice  to  which  the  partiality  of  my  countrymen  has  called 
me,  I  now  take  an  affectionate  leave  of  you.  You  will 
bear  with  you  to  your  homes  the  remembrance  of  the 
pledge  I  have  this  day  given,  to  discharge  all  the  high 
duties  of  my  exalted  station  according  to  the  best  of  my 
ability  ;  and  I  shall  enter  upon  their  performance  with  en 
tire  confidence  in  the  support  of  a  just  and  generous 
people. 


TYLER'S  ADDRESS. 
APRIL  9,  1841. 

Fellow- Citizens : 

Before  my  arrival  at  the  seat  of  Government,  the  pain 
ful  communication  was  made  to  you  by  the  officers  pre 
siding  over  the  several  Departments,  of  the  deeply  regret 
ted  death  of  WILLIAM  HEXRY  HARRISON,  late  President 
of  the  United  States.  Upon  him  you  had  conferred  your 
suffrages  for  the  first  office  in  your  gift,  and  had  selected 
him  as  your  chosen  instrument  to  correct  and  reform  all 
such  errors  and  abuses  as  had  manifested  themselves 
from  time  to  time  in  the  practical  operation  of  the  Go 
vernment.  While  standing  at  the  threshold  of  this  great 
work,  he  has,  by  the  dispensation  of  an  all-wise  Provi 
dence,  been  removed  from  amongst  us,  and  by  the  provi 
sions  of  the  Constitution  the  efforts  to  be  directed  to  (he 


.  T  ^  a.  E 


TYLER'S  ADDRESS.  213 

accomplishing  of  this  vitally  important  task  have  devolved 
upon  myself.  This  same  occurrence  has  subjected  the 
wisdom  and  sufficiency  of  our  institutions  to  a  new  test. 
For  the  first  time  in  our  history  the  person  elected  to  the 
Vice  Presidency  of  the  United  States,  by  the  happening 
of  a  contingency  provided  for  in  the  Constitution,  has  had 
devolved  upon  him  the  Presidential  office.  The  spirit  of 
faction,  which  is  directly  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  a  lofty 
patriotism,  may  find  in  this  occasion  for  assaults  upon 
my  administration.  And  in  succeeding,  under  circum 
stances  so  sudden  and  unexpected,  and  to  responsibilities 
so  greatly  augmented,  to  the  administration  of  public  af 
fairs,  I  shall  place  in  the  intelligence  and  patriotism  of  the 
people  my  only  sure  reliance.  My  earnest  prayer  shall  be 
constantly  addressed  to  the  all-wise  and  all-powerful  Being, 
who  made  me,  and  by  whose  dispensation  I  am  called  to 
the  high  office  of  President  of  this  confederacy,  under- 
standingly  to  carry  out  the  principles  of  that  Constitution 
which  I  have  sworn  «  to  protect,  preserve,  and  defend.' 

The  usual  opportunity  which  is  afforded  to  a  Chief 
Magistrate  upon  his  induction  to  office  of  presenting  to 
his  countrymen  an  exposition  of  the  policy  which  would 
guide  his  administration,  in  the  form  of  an  inaugural  ad 
dress,  not  having,  under  the  peculiar  circumstances  which 
have  brought  me  to  the  discharge  of  the  high  duties  of 
President  of  the  United  States,  been  afforded  to  me,  a 
brief  exposition  of  the  principles  which  will  govern  me  in 
the  general  course  of  my  administration  of  public  affairs 
would  seem  to  be  due  as  well  to  myself  as  to  you.  In  re 
gard  to  foreign  nations,  the  groundwork  of  my  policy  will  be 
justice  on  our  part  to  all,  submitting  to  injustice  from  none. 
While  I  shall  sedulously  cultivate  the  relations  of  peace 
and  amity  with  one  and  all,  it  shall  be  my  most  imperative 
duty  to  see  that  the  honor  of  the  country  shall  sustain  no 
blemish.  With  a  view  to  this,  the  condition  of  our  mili 
tary  defences  will  become  a  matter  of  anxious  solicitude. 
The  Army,  which  has  in  other  days  covered  itself  with 
renown,  and  the  Navy  not  inappropriately  termed  the 
right  arm  of  the  public  defence,  which  has  spread  a  light 
of  glory  over  the  American  standard  in  all  the  waters  ol 
the  earth,  should  be  rendered  replete  with  efficiency. 


244  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

In  view  of  the  fact,  well  avouched  hy  history,  that  the 
tendency  of  all  human  institutions  is  to  concentrate  pow 
er  in  the  hands  of  a  single  man,  and  that  their  ultimate 
downfal  has  proceeded  from  this  cause,  I  deem  it  ot  the 
most  essential  importance  that  a  complete  separation 
should  take  place  between  the  sword  and  thp  purse.  No 
matter  where  or  how  the  public  moneys  shall  be  deposit 
ed,  so  long  as  the  President  can  exert  the  power  of  ap 
pointing  and  removing,  at  his  pleasure,  the  agents  select 
ed  for  their  custody,  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Army 
and  Navy  is  in  fact  the  Treasurer.  A  permanent  and 
radical  change  should  therefore  be  decreed.  The  patro 
nage  incident  to  the  presidential  office,  already  great,  is 
constantly  increasing.  Such  increase  is  destined  to  keep 
pace  with  the  growth  of  our  population,  until  without  a 
figure  of  speech,  an  army  of  office-holders  may  be  spread 
over  the  land.  The  unrestrained  power  exerted  by  a 
selfishly  ambitious  man,  in  order  either  to  perpetuate  his 
authority,  or  to  hand  it  over  to  some  favorite  as  his  suc 
cessor,  may  lead  to  the  employment  of  all  the  means  with 
in  his  control  to  accomplish  his  object.  The  right  to  re 
move  from  office,  while  subjected  to  no  just  restraint,  is 
inevitably  destined  to  produce  a  spirit  of  crouching  ser 
vility  with  the  official  corps,  which,  in  order  to  uphold 
the  hand  which  feeds  them,  would  lead  to  direct  and  ac 
tive  interference  in  the  elections,  both  state  and  federal, 
thereby  subjecting  the  course  of  state  legislation  to  the 
dictation  of  the  Chief  Executive  Officer,  and  making  the 
will  of  that  officer  absolute  and  supreme.  I  will,  at  a  pro 
per  time,  invoke  the  action  of  Congress  upon  this  subject, 
and  shall  readily  acquiesce  in  the  adoption  of  all  proper 
measures  which  are  calculated  to  arrest  these  evils,  so  full 
of  danger  in  their  tendency.  I  will  remove  no  incumbent 
from  office  who  has  faithfully  and  honestly  acquitted  him 
self  of  the  duties  of  his  office,  except  in  such  cases  where 
such  officer  has  been  guilty  of  an  active  partizanship,  or 
by  secret  means — the  less  manly,  and  therefore  the  more 
objectionable — has  given  his  official  influence  to  the  pur 
poses  of  party,  thereby  bringing  the  patronage  of  the  go 
vernment  in  conflict  with  the  freedom  of  election.  Nu 
merous  removals  mav  become  necessary  under  this  rule. 


TYLER'S  ADDRESS.  245 

These  will  be  made  by  me  through  no  acerbity  of  feeling-. 
I  have  had  no  cause  to  cherish  or  indulge  unkind  feel 
ings  towards  any,  but  my  conduct  will  be  regulated  by  a 
profound  sense  of  what  is  due  to  the  country  and  its  in 
stitutions  ;  nor  shall  I  neglect  to  apply  the  same  unbend 
ing  rule  to  those  of  my  own  appointment.  Freedom  of 
opinion  will  be  tolerated,  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  right 
oif  suffrage  will  be  maintained  as  the  birthright  of  every 
American  citizen,  but  I  say  emphatically  to  the  official 
corps,  '  thus  far  and  no  farther.'  I  have  dwelt  longer 
upon  this  subject,  because  removals  from  office  are  likely 
often  to  arise,  and  I  would  have  my  countrymen  to  un 
derstand  the  principle  of  the  Executive  action. 

In  all  public  expenditures  the  most  rigid  economy 
should  be  resorted  to,  and,  as  one  of  its  results,  a  public 
debt  in  time  of  peace  be  sedulously  avoided.  A  wise  and 
patriotic  constituency  will  never  object  to  the  imposition 
of  necessary  burdens  for  useful  ends ;  and  true  wisdom 
dictates  the  resort  to  such  means,  in  order  to  supply  de 
ficiencies  in  the  revenue,  rather  than  to  those  doubtful 
expedients,  which,  ultimating  in  a  public  debt,  serve  to 
embarrass  the  resources  of  the  country  and  to  lessen  its 
ability  to  meet  any  great  emergency  which  may  arise. 
All  sinecures  should  be  abolished.  The  appropriations 
should  be  direct  and  explicit,  so  as  to  leave  as  limited  a 
share  of  discretion  to  the  disbursing  agents  as  may  be  found 
compatible  with  the  public  service.  A  strict  responsi 
bility  on  the  part  of  all  the  agents  of  the  Government 
should  be  maintained,  and  peculation  or  defalcation 
visited  with  immediate  expulsion  from  office  and  the 
most  condign  punishment. 

The  public  interest  also  demands  that,  if  any  war  has 
existed  between  the  Government  and  the  currency,  it 
shall  cease.  Measures  of  a  financial  character,  now  hav 
ing  the  sanction  of  legal  enactment,  shall  be  faithfully  en 
forced  until  repealed  by  the  legislative  authority.  But  I  owe 
it  to  myself  to  declare  that  I  regard  existing  enactments  as 
unwise  and  impolitic,  and  in  a  high  degree  oppressive.  T 
shall  promptly  give  my  sanction  to  any  constitutional  mea 
sure  which,  originating  in  Congress,  shall  have  for  its  ob- 
20 


246  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

ject  the  restoration  of  a  sound  circulating  medium,  so  essen 
tially  necessary  to  give  confidence  in  all  the  transactions 
of  life,  to  secure  to  industry  its  just  and  adequate  rewards, 
and  to  re-establish  the  public  prosperity.  In  deciding 
upon  the  adaption  of  any  such  measure  to  the  end  pro 
posed  as  well  as  its  conformity  to  the  Constitution,  I 
shall  resort  to  the  Fathers  of  the  great  Republican  school 
for  advice  and  instruction,  to  be  drawn  from  their  sage 
views  of  our  system  of  Government,  and  the  light  of 
their  ever  glorious  example. 

The  institutions  under  which  we  live,  my  country 
men,  secure  each  person  in  the  perfect  enjoyment  of  all 
his  rights.  The  spectacle  is  exhibited  to  the  world  of  a 
Government  deriving  its  powers  from  the  consent  of  the 
governed,  and  having  imparted  to  it  only  so  much  power 
as  is  necessary  for  its  successful  operation.  Those  who 
are  charged  with  its  administration  should  carefully  ab 
stain  from  all  attempts  to  enlarge  the  range  of  powers 
thus  granted  to  the  several  departments  of  the  Govern 
ment,  other  than  by  an  appeal  to  the  People  for  additional 
grants,  lest  by  so  doing  they  disturb  that  balance  which 
the  patriots  and  statesmen  who  framed  the  Constitution 
designed  to  establish  between  the  Federal  Government 
and  the  States  composing  the  Union.  The  observance 
of  these  rules  is  enjoined  upon  us  by  that  feeling  of  re 
verence  and  affection  which  finds  a  place  in  the  heart  of 
every  patriot  for  the  preservation  of  union  and  the  bless 
ings  of  union — for  the  good  of  our  children  and  our 
children's  children,  through  countless  generations.  An 
opposite  course  could  not  fail  to  generate  factions,  intent 
upon  the  gratification  of  their  selfish  ends ;  to  give  birth 
to  local  and  sectional  jealousies,  and  to  ultimate  either  in 
breaking  asunder  the  bonds  of  union,  or  in  building  up  a 
central  system,  which  would  inevitably  end  in  a  bloody 
sceptre  and  an  iron  crown. 

In  conclusion,  I  beg  you  to  be  assured  that  I  shall  exert 
myself  to  carry  the  foregoing  principles  into  practice  during 
my  administration  of  the  Government,  and,  confiding  in  the 
protecting  care  of  an  ever-watchful  and  overruling  Provi 
dence,  it  shall  be  my  first  and  highest  duty  to  preserve 


TYLER'S  FIRST  MESSAGE.  247 

unimpaired  the  free  institutions  under  which  we  live,  and 
transmit  them  to  those  who  shall  succeed  me  in  their  full 
force  and  vigor. 


TYLER'S  FIRST  MESSAGE, 
JUNE  1,  1841. 

To  the,  Senate,  and 

House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States: 

Fellow-Citizens : — You  have  been  assembled,  in  your 
respective  halls  of  legislation,  under  a  proclamation  bear 
ing  the  signature  of  the  illustrious  citizen  who  was  so 
lately  called  by  the  direct  suffrages  of  the  people  to  the 
discharge  of  the  important  functions  of  their  chief  execu 
tive  office.  Upon  the  expiration  of  a  single  month  from 
the  day  of  his  installation,  he  has  paid  the  great  debt  of 
nature,  leaving  behind  him  a  name  associated  with  there- 
collection  of  numerous  benefits  conferred  upon  the  coun 
try  during  a  long  life  of  patriotic  devotion.  With  this 
public  bereavement  are  connected  other  considerations 
which  will  not  escape  the  attention  of  Congress.  The 
preparations  necessary  for  his  removal  to  the  seat  of  Go 
vernment  in  view  of  a  residence  of  four  years,  must  have 
devolved  upon  the  late  President  heavy  expenditures, 
which,  if  permitted  to  burden  the  limited  resources  of  his 
private  fortune,  may  tend  seriously  to  the  embarrassment 
of  his  surviving  family ;  and  it  is  therefore  respectfully 
submitted  to  Congress  whether  the  ordinary  principles  of 
justice  would  not  dictate  the  propriety  of  its  legislative 
interposition.  By  the  provisions  of  the  fundamental 
law,  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  high  station  to  which 
he  was  elected  have  devolved  upon  me,  and  in  the  disposi 
tion  of  the  representatives  of  the  States  and  of  the  people 
will  be  found  to  a  great  extent  a  solution  of  the  problem 
to  which  our  institutions  are  for  the  first  time  subjected. 


248  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

In  entering  upon  the  duties  of  this  office,  I  did  not  feel 
that  it  would  be  becoming  in  me  to  disturb  what  had  been 
ordered  by  my  lamented  predecessor.  Whatever,  there 
fore,  may  have  been  my  opinion,  originally,  as  to  the  pro 
priety  of  convening  Congress  at  so  early  a  day  from  that 
of  its  late  adjournment,  I  found  a  new  and  controlling  in 
ducement  not  to  interfere  with  the  patriotic  desires  of  the 
late  President,  in  the  novelty  of  the  situation  in  which  I  was 
so  unexpectedly  placed.  My  first  wish,  under  such  cir 
cumstances,  would  necessarily  have  been  to  have  called 
to  my  aid,  in  the  administration  of  public  affairs,  the  com 
bined  wisdom  of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  in  order  to 
take  their  counsel  and  advice  as  to  the  best  mode  of  extri 
cating  the  Government  and  the  country  from  the  embar 
rassments  weighing  heavily  on  both.  I  am  then  most 
happy  in  finding  myself,  so  soon  after  my  accession  to 
the  Presidency,  surrounded  by  the  immediate  representa 
tives  of  the  states  and  people. 

No  important  changes  having  taken  place  in  our  for 
eign  relations  since  the  last  session  of  Congress,  it  is  not 
deemed  necessary  on  this  occasion  to  go  into  a  detailed 
statement  in  regard  to  them.  I  am  happy  to  say  that  1 
see  nothing  to  destroy  the.  hope  of  being  able  to  preserve 
peace. 

The  ratification  of  the  treaty  with  Portugal  has  been 
duly  exchanged  between  the  two  Governments.  This  Go 
vernment  has  not  been  inattentive  to  the  interests  of  those 
of  our  citizens  who  have  claims  on  the  Government  of 
Spain  founded  on  express  treaty  stipulations  ;  and  a  hope  is 
indulged  that  the  representations  which  have  been  made 
to  that  Government  on  this  subject  may  lead  ere  long  ta 
beneficial  results. 

A  correspondence  has  taken  place  between  the  Secre 
tary  of  State  and  the  Minister  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty 
accredited  to  this  Government,  on  the  subject  of  Alexan 
der  McLeod's  indictment  and  imprisonment,  copies  of 
which  are  herewith  communicated  to  Congress. 

In  addition  to  what  appears  from  these  papers,  it  may 
be  proper  to  state  that  Alexander  McLeod  has  been  heard 
by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  New  York  on  his 
motion  to  be  discharged  from  imprisonment,  and  that  tho 
decision  of  that  court  has  not  as  yet  been  pronounced. 


249 

The  Secretary  of  State  has  addressed  to  me  a  paper 
upon  two  subjects,  interesting  to  the  commerce  of  the 
country,  which  will  receive  my  consideration,  and  which 
I  have  the  honor  to  communicate  to  Congress. 

So  far  as  it  depends  on  the  course  of  this  Government, 
our  relations  of  good  will  and  friendship  will  be  sedu 
lously  cultivated  wiih  all  nations.  The  true  American 
policy  will  be  found  to  consist  in  the  exercise  of  a  spirit 
of  justice  to  be  manifested  in  the  discharge  of  all  our  in 
ternational  obligations,  to  the  weakest  of  the  family  of  na 
tions,  as  well  as  to  the  most  powerful.  Occasional  con 
flicts  of  opinion  may  arise,  but  when  the  discussions  in 
cident  to  them  are  conducted  in  the  language  of  truth,  and 
with  a  strict  regard  to  justice,  the  scourge  of  war  will  for 
the  most  part  be  avoided.  The  time  ought  to  be  regard 
ed  as  having  gone  by  when  a  resort  to  arms  is  to  be  es 
teemed  as  the  only  proper  arbiter  of  national  differences. 

The  census  recently  taken  shows  a  regularly  progres 
sive  increase  in  our  population.  On  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  of  the  revolution,  our  numbers  scarcely  equalled 
three  millions  of  souls ;  they  already  exceed  seventeen 
millions,  and  will  continue  to  progress  in  a  ratio  which 
duplicates  in  a  period  of  about  twenty-three  years.  The 
old  States  contain  a  territory  sufficient  in  itself  to  maintain 
a  population  of  additional  millions,  and  the  most  populous 
of  the  new  States  may  even  yet  be  regarded  as  but  partial 
ly  settled,  while  of  the  new  lands  on  this  side  of  the 
Rocky  mountains,  to  say  nothing  of  the  immense  region 
which  stretches  from  the  base  of  those  mountains  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  river,  about  270,000,000  of  acres, 
ceded  and  unceded,  still  remain  to  be  brought  into  mar 
ket.  We  hold  out  to  the  people  of  other  countries  an  in 
vitation  to  come  and  settle  among  us  as  members  of  our 
rapidly  growing  family,  and,  for  the  blessings  which  we 
offer  them,  we  require  them  to  look  upon  our  country,  as 
their  country,  and  to  unite  with  us  in  the  great  task  of  pre 
serving  our  institutions,  and  thereby  perpetuating  our  liber 
ties.  No  motive  exists  for  foreign  conquests.  We  desire  but 
to  reclaim  our  almost  illimitable  wilderness,  and  thereby 
to  introduce  into  their  depths  the  light  of  civilization. 
While  we  shall  at  all  times  be  prepared  to  vindicate  the 


250  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

national  honor,   our  most  earnest  desire  will  be  to  main 
tain  an  unbroken  peace. 

In  presenting  the  foregoing  views,  I  cannot  withhold 
the  expression  of  the  opinion  that  there  exists  nothing  in 
the  extension  of  our  empire  over  our  acknowledged  pos 
sessions  to  excite  the  alarm  of  the  patriot  for  the  safety  of 
our  institutions.  The  federative  system,  leaving  to  each 
state  the  care  of  its  domestic  concerns,  and  devolving  on 
the  federal  government  those  of  general  import,  admits  in 
safety  of  the  greatest  expansion,  but  at  the  same  time  I 
deem  it  proper  to  add  that  there  will  be  found  to  exist  at 
all  times  an  imperious  necessity  for  restraining  all  the 
functionaries  of  this  Government  within  the  range  of  their 
respective  powers,  thereby  preserving  a  just  balance  be 
tween  the  powers  granted  to  this  Government  and  those 
reserved  to  the  States  and  to  the  people. 

From  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  you 
will  perceive  that  the  fiscal  means  present  and  accruing, 
are  insufficient  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  Government 
for  the  current  year.  The  balance  in  the  Treasury  on 
the  4th  day  of  March  last,  not  covered  by  outstanding 
drafts,  and  exclusive  of  trust  funds,  is  estimated  at  $860, 
000.  This  includes  the  sum  of  $215,000  deposited  in 
the  mint  and  its  branches  to  procure  metal  for  coining  and 
in  process  of  coinage,  and  which  could  not  be  withdrawn 
without  inconvenience  ;  thus  leaving  subject  to  draft  in  the 
various  depositories,  the  sum  of  $645,000.  By  virtue  of 
two  several  acts  of  Congress,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasu 
ry  was  authorized  to  issue,  on  and  after  the  4th  of  March 
last,  Treasury  Notes  to  the  amount  of  $5,413,000,  making 
an  aggregate  available  fund  of  $6,058,000  on  hand. 

But  this  fund  was  chargeable  with  outstanding  Trea 
sury  Notes  redeemable  in  the  current  year  and  interest 
thereon  to  the  estimated  amount  of  five  millions  two  hun 
dred  and  eighty  thousand  dollars.  There  is  also  thrown 
upon  the  Treasury  the  payment  of  a  large  amount  of  de 
mands  accrued  in  whole  or  in  part  in  former  years,  which 
will  exhaust  the  available  means  of  the  Treasury,  and 
leave  the  accruing  revenue  reduced  as  it  is  in  amount, 
burdened  with  debt,  and  charged  with  the  current  ex 
penses  of  the  Government.  The  aggregate  amount  of 


TYLER'S  FIRST  MESSAGE.  251 

outstanding  appropriations  on  the  4th  of  March  last  was 
$33,429, Gi6  50,  of  which  $24,210,300  will  be  re 
quired  during  the  current  year,  and  there  will  also  be  re 
quired  for  the  use  of  the  War  Department  additional  ap 
propriations  to  the  amount  of  two  millions  five  hundred 
and  eleven  thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty  two  dollars 
and  ninety  eight  cents,  the  especial  objects  of  which  will 
be  seen  by  reference  to  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War 

The  anticipated  means  of  the  Treasury  are  greatly  in 
adequate  to  this  demand.  The  receipts  for  customs 
for  the  last  three  quarters  of  the  last  year,  amount 
ed  to  $12,100,000  ;  the  receipts  for  lands  for  the  same  time 
to  $2,742,450 ;  showing  an  average  revenue  from  both 
sources  of  $1,236,780  per  month.  A  gradual  expan 
sion  of  trade  growing  out  of  a  restoration  of  confidence, 
together  with  a  reduction  in  the  expenses  of  collecting, 
and  punctuality  on  the  part  of  collecting  officers,  may 
cause  an  addition  to  the  monthly  receipt  from  the  customs. 
They  are  estimated  for  the  residue  of  the  year,  from  the 
fourth  of  March,  $12,000,000;  the  receipts  from  the  pub 
lic  land  for  the  same  time  are  estimated  at  $2,600,000; 
and  from  miscellaneous  sources  at  $170,000;  making  an 
aggregate  of  available  fund  within  the  year  of  $14,670,000; 
which  will  leave  a  probable  deficit  of  $11,406,132  98. 
To  meet  this,  some  temporary  provision  is  necessary,  un 
til  the  amount  can  be  absorbed  by  the  excess  of  revenues, 
which  are  anticipated  to  accrue  at  no  distant  day. 

There  will  fall  due  within  the  next  three  months, 
Treasury  Notes  of  the  issues  of  1840,  including  interest, 
about  $2,850,000.  There  is  chargeable  in  the  same  pe 
riod  for  arrearages  for  taking  the  sixth  census  $294,000  ; 
and  the  estimated  expenditures  for  the  current  service  are 
about  $3,100,000,  making  the  aggregate  demands  upon 
the  Treasury,  prior  to  the  first  of  September  next,  about 
$11,340,000.  The  ways  and  means  in  the  Treasury, 
and  estimated  to  accrue  within  the  above  named  period, 
consist  of  about  $694,000  of  funds  available  on  the  28th 
ultimo  ;  an  unissued  balance  of  Treasury  Notes  authori 
zed  by  the  act  of  1841,  amounting  to  $1,955,000,  and  es 
timated  receipts  from  all  sources  of  $3,800,000,  making 
an  aggregate  of  about  $6,450,000,  and  leaving  a  probable 
deficit  on  the  1st  of  September  next  of  $4,845,000. 


252  THE  TRUE    REPUBLICAN. 

In  order  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  Government,  an 
intelligent  constituency,  in  view  of  the  best  interests,  will, 
without  hesitation,  submit  to  all  necessary  burdens.  But 
it  is  nevertheless  important  so  to  impose  them  as  to  avoid 
defeating  the  just  expectations  of  the  country,  growing 
out  of  pre-existing  laws.  The  act  of  2d  March,  1833, 
commonly  called  the  Compromise  Act,  should  not  be  al 
tered  except  under  urgent  circumstances,  which  are  not 
believed  at  this  lime  to  exist.  One  year  only  remains  to 
complete  the  series  of  reductions  provided  for  by  that  law, 
at  which  time  provisions  made  by  the  same  law,  and 
whicli  will  then  be  brought  actively  in  aid  of  the  manu 
facturing  interests  of  the  Union,  will  not  fail  to  produce 
the  most  beneficial  results.  Under  a  system  of  discrimi 
nating  duties  imposed  for  purposes  of  revenue,  in  unison 
with  the  provisions  of  existing  laws,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
our  policy  will,  in  the  future,  be  fixed  and  permanent,  so 
as  to  avoid  those  constant  fluctuations  which  defeat  the 
very  object  they  have  in  view.  We  shall  thus  best  main 
tain  a  position  which,  while  it  will  enable  us  the  more 
readily  to  meet  the  advances  of  other  countries  calculated 
to  promote  our  trade  and  commerce,  and  will  at  the  same 
time  leave  in  our  own  hands  the  means  of  retaliating  with 
greater  effect  unjust  regulations. 

In  intimate  connexion  with  the  question  of  revenue  is 
that  which  makes  provision  for  a  suitable  fiscal  agent  ca 
pable  of  adding  increased  facilities  in  the  collection  and 
disbursement  of  the  public  revenues,  rendering  more  se 
cure  their  custody,  and  consulting  a  true  economy  in  the 
great  multiplied  and  delicate  operations  of  the  Treasury 
Department.  Upon  such  an  agent,  depends,  in  an  emi 
nent  degree,  the  establishment  of  a  currency  uniform  in 
value,  which  is  of  so  great  importance  to  all  the  essential 
interests  of  society  ;  and  on  the  wisdom  to  be  manifested 
in  its  creation  much  depends. 

So  intimately  interwoven  are  its  operations,  not  only 
with  the  interests  of  individuals,  but  with  those  of  the 
States,  that  it  may  be  regarded  in  a  great  degree  as  con 
trolling  both.  If  paper  be  used  as  the  chief  medium  of 
circulation,  and  the  power  be  vested  in  the  Government 
of  using  it  at  pleasure,  either  in  the  form  of  Treasury 


TYLER'S  FIRST  MESSAGE.  253 

drafts  or  any  other,  or  if  banks  be  used  as  the  public  de 
positories,  with  liberty  to  regard  all  surplusses,  from  day 
to  day  as  so  much  added  to  their  active  capital,  prices  are 
exposed  to  constant  fluctuations,  and  industry  to  severe 
suffering1.  In  the  one  case,  political  considerations,  di 
rected  to  party  purposes,  may  control,  while  excessive 
cupidity  may  prevail  in  the  other.  The  public  is  thus 
constantly  liable  to  imposition.  Expansions  and  contrac 
tions  may  follow  each  other  in  rapid  succession,  the  one 
engendering  a  reckless  spirit  of  adventure  and  speculation, 
which  embraces  States  as  well  as  individuals  ;  the  other 
causing  a  fall  in  prices,  and  accomplishing  an  entire 
change  in  the  aspect  of  affairs.  Stocks  of  all  kinds  ra 
pidly  decline — individuals  are  ruined,  and  States  embar 
rassed  even  in  their  efforts  to  meet  with  punctuality  the 
interest  on  their  debts.  Such,  unhappily,  is  the  state  of 
things  now  existing  in  the  United  States.  These  effects 
may  readily  be  traced  to  the  causes  above  referred  to. 
The  public  revenues,  on  being  removed  from  the  Bank  of 
the  United  States,  under  an  order  of  the  late  President, 
were  placed  in  selected  Banks,  which  actuated  by  the 
double  motive  of  conciliating  the  Government  and  aug 
menting  their  profits  to  the  greatest  possible  extent,  en 
larged  extravagantly  their  discounts,  thus  enabling  all 
other  existing  banks  to  do  the  same. 

Large  dividends  were  declared,  which,  stimulating  the 
cupidity  of  capitalists,  caused  a  rush  to  be  made  to  the 
legislatures  of  the  respective  States  for  similar  acts  of  in 
corporation,  which,  by  many  of  the  States,  under  a  tem 
porary  infatuation,  were  readily  granted,  and  thus  the 
augmentation  of  the  circulating  medium,  consisting  al 
most  exclusively  of  paper,  produced  a  most  fatal  delusion. 
An  illustration,  derived  from  the  land  sales  of  the  period 
alluded  to,  will  serve  best  to  show  the  effect  of  the  whole 
system.  The  average  sales  of  the  public  lands,  for  a 
period  of  ten  years  prior  to  1834,  had  not  much  exceeded 
$2,000,000  per  annum.  In  1834  they  attained  in  round 
numbers,  to  the  amount  of  $6,000,000.  In  the  succeeding 
year,  of  1835,  they  reached  $16,000,000.  And  the  next 
year,  of  1836,  they  amounted  to  the  enormous  sum  of 
$25,000,000.  Thus  crowded  into  the  short  space  of  three 
23 


251  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

years  upwards  of  twenty-three  years'  purchase  of  the 
public  domain.  So  apparent  had  become  the  necessity 
of  arresting  this  course  of  things,  that  the  Executive  de 
partment  assumed  the  highly  questionable  power  of  dis 
criminating  in  the  funds  to  be  used  in  payment  by  dif 
ferent  classes  of  public  debtors — a  discrimination  which 
was  doubtless  designed  to  correct  this  most  ruinous  state 
of  things  by  the  exaction  of  specie  in  all  payments  for 
the  public  lands,  but  which  could  not  at  once  arrrest  the 
tide  which  had  so  strongly  set  in.  Hence  the  demands 
for  specie  became  unceasing,  and  corresponding  prostra 
tion  rapidly  ensued  under  the  necessities  created  with  the 
banks  to  curtail  their  discounts,  and  thereby  to  reduce 
their  circulation.  I  recur  to  these  things  with  no  dispo 
sition  to  censure  pre-existing  administrations  of  the  Go 
vernment,  but  simply  in  exemplification  of  the  truth  of 
the  position  which  I  have  assumed.  If,  then,  any  fiscal 
agent  which  may  be  created,  shall  be  placed,  without 
due  restrictions,  either  in  the  hands  of  the  administrators 
of  the  Government,  or  those  of  private  individuals,  the 
temptation  to  abuse  will  prove  resistless. 

Objects  of  political  aggrandizement  may  seduce  the 
first,  and  the  promptings  of  a  boundless  cupidity  will  as 
sail  the  last.  Aided  by  the  experience  of  the  past,  it  will 
be  the  pleasure  of  Congress  so  to  guard  and  fortify  the 
public  interests  in  the  creation  of  any  new  agent,  so  as  to 
place  them,  so  far  as  human  wisdom  can  accomplish  it, 
on  a  footing  of  perfect  security.  Within  a  few  years  past, 
three  different  schemes  have  been  before  the  country.  The 
charter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  expired  by  its 
own  limitation  in  1836.  An  effort  was  made  to  renew 
it,  which  received  the  sanction  of  the  two  houses  of  Con 
gress,  but  then  the  President  of  the  United  States  exer 
cised  the  veto  power,  and  the  measure  was  defeated.  A 
regard  to  truth  requires  me  to  say  that  the  President  was 
fully  sustained  in  the  course  he  had  taken,  by  the  popu 
lar  voice.  His  successor  to  the  Chair  of  State  unquali 
fiedly  pronounced  his  opposition  to  any  new  charter  of  a 
similar  institution ;  and  not  only  the  popular  election 
which  brought  him  into  power,  but  the  elections  through 
much  of  his  term,  seemed  clearly  to  indicate  a  concut- 


TYLER'S  FIRST  MESSAGE.  255 

rence  with  him  in  sentiment,  on  the  part  of  the  people. 
After  the  public  moneys  were  withdrawn  from  the  United 
States  Bank,  they  were  placed  in  deposit  with  the  State 
Banks,  and  the  result  of  that  policy  has  been  before  the 
country.  To  say  nothing  as  to  the  question  whether  that 
experiment  was  made  under  propitious  or  adverse  circum 
stances,  it  may  safely  be  asserted  that  it  did  receive  the  un 
qualified  condemnation  of  most  of  its  early  advocates,  and 
it  is  believed  was  also  condemned  by  the  popular  senti 
ment.  The  existing  Sub-Treasury  system  does  not  seem 
to  stand  in  higher  favor  with  the  people,  but  has  recently 
been  condemned  in  a  manner  too  plainly  indicated  to 
admit  of  a  doubt.  Thus,  in  the  short  period  of  eight 
years,  the  popular  voice  may  be  regarded  as  having  suc 
cessfully  condemned  each  of  the  three  schemes  of  finance 
to  which  I  have  adverted. 

As  to  the  first,  it  was  introduced  at  a  time  (1816)  when 
the  State  banks  then  comparatively  few  in  number,  had 
been  forced  to  suspend  specie  payments,  by  reason  of  the 
war  which  had  previously  prevailed  with  Great  Britain. 
Whether,  if  the  United  States  Bank  charter  which  ex 
pired  in  1811  had  been  renewed  in  due  season,  it  would 
hav£  been  enabled  to  continue  specie  payments  during 
the  war  and  the  disastrous  period  to  the  commerce  of  the 
country  which  immediately  succeeded,  is,  to  say  theleast, 
problematical ; — and  whether  the  United  States  Bank  of 
1816  produced  a  restoration  of  specie  payments,  or  the 
same  was  accomplished  through  the  instrumentality  of 
other  means,  was  a  matter  of  some  difficulty  at  that  time 
to  determine.  Certain  it  is,  that  for  the  first  years  of  the 
operation  of  that  bank,  its  course  was  as  disastrous  as  for 
the  greater  part  of  its  subsequent  career  it  became  emi 
nently  successful. 

As  to  the  second,  the  experiment  was  tried  with  a  re 
dundant  Treasury,  which  continued  to  increase  until  it 
seemed  to  be  the  part  of  wisdom  to  distribute  the  surplus 
revenue  among  the  States,  which,  operating  at  the  same 
time  with  the  specie  circular,  and  the  causes  before  ad 
verted  to,  caused  them  to  suspend  specie  payments,  and 
involved  the  country  in  the  greatest  embarrassment.  And, 
as  to  the  third,  if  carried  through  all  the  stages  of  trans- 


256  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

formation,  from  paper  and  specie  to  nothing  but  the  pre 
cious  metals,  to  say  nothing  of  the  insecurity  of  the  pub 
lic  moneys,  its  injurious  effects  have  been  anticipated  by 
the  country  in  its  unqualified  condemnation. 

What  is  now  to  be  regarded  as  the  judgment  of  the 
American  people  on  this  whole  subject,  I  have  no  accu 
rate  means  of  determining,  but  by  appealing  to  their  more 
immediate  representatives.  The  late  contest  which  termi 
nated  in  the  election  of  General  Harrison  to  the  Presiden 
cy,  was  decided  on  principles  well  known  and  openly 
declared — and  while  the  Sub-Treasury  received  in  the 
result  the  most  decided  condemnation,  no  other  scheme 
of  finance  seemed  to  have  been  concurred  in.  To  you, 
then,  who  have  come  more  immediately  from  the  body 
of  our  common  constituents,  I  submit  the  entire  question, 
as  best  qualified  to  give  a  full  exposition  of  their  wishes 
and  opinions.  I  am  ready  to  concur  with  you  in  the  adop 
tion  of  such  system  as  you  may  propose,  reserving  to 
myself  the  ultimate  power  of  rejecting  any  measure  \v  Inch 
may  in  my  view  of  it  conflict  with  the  Constitution,  or 
otherwise  jeopard  the  prosperity  of  the  country — a  power 
which  I  could  not  part  with  even  if  I  would,  but  which  I 
will  not  believe  any  act  of  yours  will  call  into  requisition. 

I  cannot  avoid  recurring,  in  connexion  with  this  subject, 
to  the  necessity  which  exists  for  adopting  some  suitable 
measure  whereby  the  unlimited  creation  of  banks  by  the 
States  may  be  corrected  in  future.  Such  result  can  be 
most  readily  achieved  by  the  consent  of  the  States,  to  be 
expressed  in  the  form  of  a  compact  among  themselves, 
which  they  can  only  enter  into  with  the  consent  and  ap 
probation  of  this  Government;  a  consent  which  might,  in 
the  present  emergency  of  the  public  demands,  justifiably 
be  given  in  advance  of  any  action  by  the  States,  as  an  in 
ducement  to  such  action  upon  terms  well  defined  by  the 
act  of  the  tender.  Such  a  measure  addressing  itself  to 
the  calm  reflection  of  the  States,  would  find  in  the  expe 
rience  of  the  past,  and  the  condition  of  the  present,  much 
to  sustain  it.  And  it  is  greatly  to  be  doubted  whether 
any  scheme  of  finance  can  prove  for  any  length  of  time 
successful,  while  the  States  shall  continue  in  the  unre 
strained  exercise  of  the  power  of  creating  banking  covpo- 


TYLER'S  FIRST  MESSAGE.  257 

rations.  .  This  power  can  only  be  limited  by  their  con 
sent. 

With  the  adoption  of  a  financial  agency  of  a  satisfactory 
character,  the  hope  may  be  indulged  that  the  country  will 
once  more  return  to  a  state  of  prosperity.  Measures 
auxiliary  thereto,  and  in  some  measure  inseparably  con 
nected  with  its  success,  will  doubtless  claim  the  attention 
of  Congress.  Among  such,  a  distribution  of  the  proceeds 
of  the  sales  of  the  public  lands,  provided  such  distribution 
does  not  force  upon  Congress  the  necessity  of  imposing 
upon  commerce  heavier  burthens  than  those  contemplated 
by  the  act  of  1833,  would  act  as  an  efficient  remedial 
measure  by  being  brought  directly  in  aid  of  the  States. 
As  one  sincerely  devoted  to  the  task  of  preserving  a  just 
balance  in  our  system  of  Government,  by  the  maintenance 
of  the  States  in  a  condition  the  most  free  and  respectable, 
and  in  the  full  possession  of  all  their  power,  I  can  no 
otherwise  than  feel  desirous  for  their  emancipation  from 
the  situation  to  which  the  pressure  of  their  finances  now 
subjects  them. 

And,  while  I  must  repudiate  as  a  measure  founded  in 
eiror,  and  wanting  constitutional  sanction,  the  slightest 
approach  to  an  assumption  by  this  Government  of  the 
debts  of  the  States,  yet  I  can  see  in  the  distribution  ad 
verted  to,  much  to  recommend  it.  The  compacts  between 
the  proprietor  States  and  this  Government,  expressly 
guaranty  to  the  States  all  the  benefits  which  may  arise 
from  tne  sales.  The  mode  by  which  this  is  to  be  effected 
addresses  itself  to  the  discretion  of  Congress,  as  the  trus 
tee  for  the  States;  and  its  exercise,  after  the  most  bene 
ficial  manner,  is  restrained  by  nothing  in  the  grants  or  in 
the  Constitution,  so  long  as  Congress  shall  consult  that 
equality  in  the  distribution  which  the  compacts  require. 

In  the  present  condition  of  some  of  the  States,  the  ques 
tion  of  distribution  may  be  regarded  as  substantially  a 
question  between  direct  and  indirect  taxation.  If  the  dis 
tribution  be  not  made  in  some  form  or  other,  the  necessi 
ty  will  daily  become  more  urgent  with  the  debtor  States  for 
a  resort  to  an  oppressive  system  of  direct  taxation,  or 
their  credit,  and  necessarily  their  power  and  influence, 
will  be  greatly  diminished.  The  payment  of  taxes,  after 
22* 


259  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

the  most  inconvenient  and  oppressive  mode,  will  be  ex 
acted  in  place  of  contributions  for  the  most  part  volun 
tarily  made,  and  therefore  comparatively  unoppressive. 
The  States  are  emphatically  the  constituents  of  this  Go 
vernment  ;  and  we  should  be  entirely  regardless  of  the 
objects  held  in  view  by  them  in  the  creation  of  this 
Government,  if  we  could  be  indifferent  to  their  good. 
The  happy  effects  of  such  a  measure  upon  all  the  States 
would  immediately  be  manifested.  With  the  debtor 
States  it  would  effect  the  relief  to  a  great  extent  of  the 
citizens  from  a  heavy  burden  of  direct  taxation,  which 
presses  with  severity  on  the  laboring  classes,  and  emi 
nently  assist  in  restoring  the  general  prosperity.  An  im 
mediate  advance  would  take  place  in  the  price  of  the 
State  securities,  and  the  attitude  of  the  States  would  be 
come  once  more,  as  it  should  ever  be,  lofty  and  erect.— 
With  States  laboring  under  no  extreme  pressure  from 
debt,  the  fund  which  they  would  derive  from  this  source 
would  enable  them  to  improve  their  condition  in  an  emi 
nent  degree. 

So  far  as  this  government  is  concerned,  appropriations 
to  domestic  objects,  approaching  in  amount  the  revenue 
derived  from  the  land  sales,  might  be  abandoned,  and  thus 
a  system  of  unequal  and  therefore  unjust  legislation  would 
be  substituted  by  one  dispensing  equality  to  all  the  mem 
bers  of  this  confederacy.  Whether  such  distribution 
should  be  made  directly  to  the  States  in  the  proceeds  of 
the  sales,  or  in  the  form  of  profits  by  virtue  of  the  opera 
tions  of  any  fiscal  agency  having  these  proceeds  as  its  ba 
sis,  should  such  measure  be  contemplated  by  Congress, 
would  well  deserve  its  consideration.  Nor  would  such 
disposition  of  the  proceeds  of  the  public  sales  in  any 
manner  prevent  Congress  from  time  to  time  from  passing 
all  necessary  pre-emption  laws  for  the  benefit  of  actual 
settlers,  or  from  making  any  new  arrangement  as  to  the 
price  of  the  public  lands  which  might  in  future  be  esteem 
ed  desirable. 

1  beg  leave  particularly  to  call  your  attention  to  the  ac 
companying  report  from  the  Secretary  of  War.  Be 
sides  the  present  state  of  the  war  which  has  long  afflicted 
the  Territory  of  Florida,  and  the  various  other  matters  of 


TYLER'S  FIRST  MESSAGE.  259 

interest  therein  referred  to,  you  will  learn  from  it  that  the 
Secretary  has  instituted  an  inquiry  into  abuses  which  pro 
mises  to  develope  gross  enormities  in  connection  with  In 
dian  treaties  which  have  been  negotiated,  as  well  as  the 
expenditures  for  the  removal  and  subsistence  of  the  In 
dians.  He  represents,  also,  other  irregularities  of  a  se 
rious  nature  that  have  grown  up  in  the  practice  of  the  In 
dian  department,  which  will  require  the  appropriation  of 
up  wards  of  $200,000  to  correct,  and  which  claim  the  im 
mediate  attention  of  Congress. 

In  reflecting  on  the  proper  means  of  defending  the  coun 
try,  we  cannot  shut  our  eyes  to  the  consequences  which 
the  introduction  and  use  of  the  power  of  stearn  upon  the 
ocean  are  likely  to  produce  in  wars  between  maritime 
States.  We  cannot  yet  see  the  extent  to  which  this  pow 
er  may  be  applied  in  belligerent  operations,  connecting  it 
self  as  it  does  with  recent  improvements  in  the  science  of 
gunnery  and  projectiles  ;  but  we  need  have  no  fear  of  be 
ing  left,  in  regard  to  these  things,  behind  the  most  active 
and  skilful  of  other  nation^,  if  the  genius  and  enterprise 
of  our  fellow-citizens  receive  proper  encouragement  and 
direction  from  Government. 

True  wisdom  would,  nevertheless,  seem  to  dictate  the 
necessity  of  placing  in  perfect  condition  those  fortifica 
tions  which  are  designed  for  the  protection  of  our  princi 
pal  cities  and  railroads.  For  the  defence  of  our  extended 
maritime  coast,  our  chief  reliance  should  be  placed  on  our 
Navy,  aided  by  those  inventions  which  are  destined  to  re 
commend  themselves  to  public  adoption.  But  no  time 
should  be  lost  in  placing  our  principal  cities  on  the  sea 
board  and  the  lakes  in  a  state  of  entire  security  from  for 
eign  assault.  Separated  as  we  are  from  the  countries  of  the 
old  world,  and  in  much  unaffected  by  their  policy,  we  are 
happily  relieved  from  the  necessity  of  maintaining  large 
standing  armies  in  times  of  peace.  The  policy  which 
was  adopted  by  Mr.  Monroe,  shortly  after  the  conclusion 
of  the  late  war  with  Great  Britain,  of  preserving  a  regular 
organized  staff  sufficient  for  the  command  of  a  large  mil 
itary  force,  should  a  necessity  for  one  arise,  is  founded  as 
well  in  economy  as  in  true  wisdom.  Provision  is  thus 
made,  upon  filling  up  the  rank  and  file,  which  can  readily 


260  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

be  done  on  any  emergency,  for  the  introduction  of  a  sys 
tem  of  discipline  both  promptly  and  efficiently.  All  that 
is  required  in  time  of  peace  is  to  maintain  a  sufficient  num 
ber  of  men  to  guard  our  fortifications,  to  meet  any  sudden 
contingency,  and  to  encounter  the  first  shock  of  war.  Our 
chief  reliance  must  be  placed  on  the  militia.  They  con 
stitute  the  great  body  of  national  guards,  and,  inspired  by 
an  ardent  love  of  country,  will  be  found  ready  at  all  times, 
and  at  all  seasons,  to  repair  with  alacrity  to  its  defence. 
It  will  be  regarded  by  Congress,  I  doubt  not,  at  a  suitable 
time,  as  one  of  its  highest  duties  to  attend  to  their  com 
plete  organization  and  discipline. 

The  state  of  the  Navy  Pension  Fund  requires  the  imme 
diate  attention  of  Congress.  By  the  operation  of  the  act 
of  the  3d  of  March,  1837,  entitled  "An  act  for  the  more 
equitable  administration  of  the  Navy  Pension  Fund,"  that 
fund  has  been  exhausted.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  ac 
companying  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  pensions  that 
there  will  be  required  for  the  payment  of  Navy  pension 
ers,  on  the  first  of  -July  next,  $84,006  06^,  and  on 
the  first  of  January,  1842,  the  sum  of  $60,000.  In  addi 
tion  to  these  sums,  about  $8,000  will  be  required  to  pay 
arrears  of  pensions,  which  will  probably  be  allowed  be 
tween  the  first  of  July  and  the  first  of  January,  1842, 
making  in  the  whole,  $150,006  06j.  To  meet  these 
payments  there  is  within  the  control  of  the  department  the 
sum  of  $28,040,  leaving  a  deficit  of  $121,966  06  j.  The 
public  faith  requires  that  immediate- provision  should  be 
made  for  the  payment  of  these  sums. 

In  order  to  introduce  into  the  Navy  a  desirable  effi 
ciency,  a  new  system  of  accountability  may  be  found  to 
be  indispensably  necessary.  To  mature  a  plan  having 
for  its  object  the  accomplishment  of  an  end  so  important, 
and  to  meet  the  just  expectations  of  the  country,  require 
more  time  than  has  yet  been  allowed  to  the  Secretary  at 
the  head  of  the  department.  The  hope  is  indulged  that 
by  the  time  of  your  next  regular  session  measures  of  im 
portance,  in  connexion  with  this  branch  of  the  public  ser 
vice,  may  be  matured  for  your  consideration. 

Athough  the  laws  regulating  the  Post-Office  depart 
ment  only  require  from  the  officer  charged  wth  its  direction 


TYLER'S  FIRST  MESSAGE.  201 

to  report  at  the  usual  annual  session  of  Congress,  the  Post 
Master  General  has  presented  to  me  some  facts  connected 
with  the  financial  condition  of  the  Department  which  are 
deemed  worthy  the  attention  of  Congress. 

By  the  accompanying  report  of  that  officer,  it  appears 
that  the  existing  liabilities  of  that  Department  beyond  the 
means  of  payment  at  its  command  cannot  be  less  than 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  As  the  laws  organizing 
that  branch  of  the  public  service  confine  the  expenditure 
to  its  own  revenues,  deficiencies  therein  cannot  be  pre 
sented  under  the  usual  estimates  for  the  expenses  of  Gov 
ernment.  It  must  therefore  be  left  to  Congress  to  deter 
mine  whether  the  moneys  now  due  to  contractors  shall 
be  paid  from  the  public  Treasury,  or  whether  that  De 
partment  shall  continue  under  its  present  embarrassments. 
It  will  be  seen  by  the  report  of  the  Post  Master  General, 
that  the  recent  lettings  of  contracts  in  several  of  the 
States,  have  been  made  at  such  reduced  rates  of  compen 
sation  as  to  encourage  the  belief  that,  if  the  department 
was  relieved  from  existing  difficulties  its  future  operations 
might  be  conducted  without  any  further  call  upon  the 
general  Treasury. 

The  power  of  appointing  to  office  is  one  of  a  character 
the  most  delicate  and  responsible.  The  appointing  pow 
er  is  evermore  exposed  to  be  led  into  error.  With  anx 
ious  solicitude  to  select  the  most  trustworthy  for  official 
stations,  1  cannot  be  supposed  to  possess  a  personal 
knowledge  of  the  qualifications  of  every  applicant.  I 
deem  it  therefore  proper,  in  this  most  public  manner,  to 
invite,  on  the  part  of  the  Senate,  a  just  scrutiny  into  the 
character  and  pretensions  of  every  person  whom  I  may 
bring  to  their  notice  in  the  regular  form  of  a  nomination 
for  office.  Unless  persons  every  way  trustworthy  are 
employed  in  the  public  service,  corruption  and  irregularity 
will  inevitably  follow.  I  shall  with  the  greatest  cheerful 
ness,  acquiesce  in  the  decision  of  that  body,  and,  it  is 
wisely  constituted  to  the  Executive  department  in  the  per 
formance  of  this  delicate  duty,  I  shall  look  to  its  '  consent 
and  advice,'  as  given  only  in  furtherance  of  the  best  in 
terests  of  the  country. 


282  THE  TRUE  REPUBLICAN. 

I  shall,  also,  at  the  earliest  proper  occasion,  invite  the 
attention  of  Congress  to  such  measures  as  in  my  judg 
ment  will  be  best  calculated  to  regulate  and  control  the 
Executive  power  in  reference  to  this  vitally  important 
subject. 

I  shall  also,  at  the  proper  season,  invite  your  personal 
attention  to  the  statutory  enactments  for  the  suppression, 
of  the  slave  trade,  which  may  require  to  be  rendered  more 
efficient  in  their  provisions.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  traffic  is  on  the  increase.  Whether  such  increase 
is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  abolition  of  slave  labor  in  the 
British  possessions  in  our  vicinity,  and  an  attendant  dimi 
nution  in  the  supply  of  those  articles  which  enter  into  the 
general  consumption  of  the  world,  thereby  augmenting 
the  demand  from  other  quarters,  and  thus  calling  for  ad 
ditional  labor,  it  were  needless  to  inquire.  The  highest 
considerations  of  public  honor  as  well  as  the  strongest 
promptings  of  humanity,  require  a  resort  to  the  most  vi 
gorous  efforts  to  suppress  the  trade. 

In  conclusion,  I  beg  to  invite  your  particular  attention 
to  the  interests  of  this  District.  Nor  do  I  doubt  that,  in 
a  liberal  spirit  of  legislation,  you  will  seek  to  advance  its 
commercial  as  well  as  its  local  interests.  Should  Con 
gress  deem  it  to  be  its  duty  to  repeal  the  existing  Sub- 
Treasury  law,  the  necessity  of  providing  a  suitable  place 
of  deposit  for  the  public  moneys  which  may  be  required 
within  the  District  must  be  apparent  to  all. 

I  have  felt  it  to  be  due  to  the  country  to  present  the 
foregoing  topics  to  your  consideration  and  reflection. 
Others,  with  which  it  might  not  seem  proper  to  trouble 
you  at  an  extraordinary  session,  will  be  laid  before  you 
at  a  future  day.  I  am  happy  in  committing  the  important 
affairs  of  the  country  into  your  hands.  The  tendency  of 
public  sentiment,  I  am  pleased  to  believe,  is  towards  the 
adoption,  in  a  spirit  of  union  and  harmony,  of  such  mea 
sures  as  will  fortify  the  public  interests. 

To  cherish  such  a  tendency  of  public  opinion  is  the 
task  of  an  elevated  patriotism.  That  differences  of 
opinion  as  to  the  means  of  accomplishing  these  desirable 
objects  should  exist,  is  reasonably  to  be  expected.  Nor 
can  all  be  made  satisfied  with  any  system  of  measures. 
But  I  flatter  myself  with  the  hope  that  the  great  body  of 


FOLK'S    INAUGURAL    ADDRESS.  263 

the  people  will  readily  unite  in  suppport  of  those  whose 
efforts  spring  from  a  disinterested  desire  to  promote  their 
happiness ;  to  preserve  the  Federal  and  State  Govern 
ments  within  their  respective  orbits;  to  cultivate  peace 
with  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  on  just  and  honorable 
grounds;  to  exact  obedience  to  the  laws;  to  entrench 
liberty  and  property  in  full  security,  and,  consulting  the 
most  rigid  economy,  to  abolish  all  useless  expenses. 


FOLK'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 
MARCH  4,  1845. 

FELLOW  CITIZENS  :  Without  solicitation  on  my  part, 
I  have  been  chosen  by  the  free  and  voluntary  suffrages 
of  my  countrymen  to  the  most  honorable  and  most 
responsible  office  on  earth.  I  am  deeply  impressed  with 
gratitude  for  the  confidence  reposed  in  me.  Honored 
with  this  distinguished  consideration  at  an  earlier  period 
of  life  than  any  of  my  predecessors,  I  cannot  disguise 
the  diffidence  with  which  I  am  about  to  enter  on  the  dis 
charge  of  my  official  duties. 

If  the  more  aged  and  experienced  men  who  have  filled 
the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  even  in  the 
infancy  of  the  republic,  distrusted  their  ability  to  dis 
charge  the  duties  of  that  exalted  station,  what  ought  not 
to  be  the  apprehensions  of  one  so  much  younger  and 
less  endowed,  now  that  our  domain  extends  from  ocean 
to  ocean,  that  our  people  have  so  greatly  increased  in 
numbers,  and  at  a  time  when  so  great  diversity  of 
opinion  prevails  in  regard  to  the  principles  and  policy 
which  should  characterize  the  administration  of  our 
government  ?  Well  may  the  boldest  fear,  and  the 
wisest  tremble,  when  incurring  responsibilities  on  which 
may  depend  our  country's  peace  and  prosperity,  and,  in 
some  degree,  the  hopes  and  happiness  of  the  whole 
human  family. 

In  assuming  responsibilities  so  vast,  I  fervently  invoke 
the  aid  of  that  Almighty  Ruler  of  the  universe,  in  whose 


264  FOLK'S  INAUGURAL  AUDKESS. 

hands  are  the  destinies  of  nations  and  of  men,  to  guard 
this  heaven-favored  land  against  the  mischiefs  which, 
without  his  guidance,  might  arise  from  an  unwise  pub 
lic  policy.  With  a  firm  reliance  upon  the  wisdom  of 
Omnipotence  to  sustain  and  direct  me  in  the  path  of  duty 
which  I  am  appointed  to  pursue,  I  stand  in  the  presence 
of  this  assembled  multitude  of  my  countrymen,  to  take 
upon  myself  the  solemn  obligation,  "  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  to  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States." 

A  concise  enumeration  of  the  principles  which  will 
guide  me  in  the  administrative  policy  of  the  government, 
is  not  only  in  accordance  with  the  examples  set  me  by 
all  my  predecessors,  but  is  eminently  befitting  the  occasion. 

The  constitution  itself,  plainly  written  as  it  is,  the 
safeguard  of  our  federative  compact,  the  offspring  of  con 
cession  and  compromise,  binding  together  in  the  bonds 
of  peace  and  union  this  great  and  increasing  family  of 
free  and  independent  States,  will  be  the  chart  by  which  I 
shall  be  directed. 

It  will  bo  my  first  care  to  administer  the  government 
in  the  true  spirit  of  that  instrument,  and  to  assume  no 
powers  not  expressly  granted,  or  clearly  implied  in  its 
terms.  The  government  of  the  United  States  is  one  of 
delegated  and  limited  powers  ;  and  it  is  by  a  strict  ad 
herence  to  the  clearly  granted  powers,  and  by  abstaining 
from  the  exercise  of  doubtful  or  unauthorized  implied 
powers,  that  we  have  the  only  sure  guaranty  against  the 
recurrence  of  those  unfortunate  collisions  between  the 
Federal  and  State  authorities,  which  have  occasionally 
so  much  disturbed  the  harmony  of  our  system,  and  even 
threatened  the  perpetuity  of  our  glorious  Union. 

"  To  the  States  respectively,  or  to  the  people," 
have  been  reserved  "  the  powers  not  delegated  to  the 
United  States  by  the  constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to 
the  States."  Each  State  is  a  complete  sovereignty  with 
in  the  sphere  of  its  reserved  powers.  The  government 
of  the  Union,  acting  within  the  sphere  of  its  delegated 
authority,  is  also  a  complete  sovereignty.  While  the 
general  government  should  abstain  from  the  exercise  of 
authority  not  clearly  delegated  to  it,  the  States  should  be 


265 

equally  careful  that,  in  the  maintenance  of  their  rights, 
they  do  not  overstep  the  limits  of  powers  reserved  to 
them.  One  of  the  most  distinguished  of  rny  predeces 
sors  attached  deserved  importance  to  **  the  support  of  the 
State  governments  in  all  their  rights,  as  the  most  compe 
tent  administration  for  our  domestic  concerns,  and  the 
surest  bulwark  against  anti-republican  tendencies;"  and 
to  the  "  preservation  of  the  general  government  in  its 
whole  constitutional  vigor,  as  the  sheet-anchor  of  our 
peace  at  home,  and  safety  abroad." 

To  the  government  of  the  United  States  has  been  in 
trusted  the  exclusive  management  of  our  foreign  affairs. 
Beyond  that,  it  wields  a  few  general  enumerated  powers. 
It  does  not  force  reform  on  the  States.  It  leaves  indi 
viduals,  over  whom  it  casts  its  protecting  influence,  en 
tirely  free  to  improve  their  own  condition  by  the  legitimate 
exercise  of  all  their  mental  and  physical  powers.  It  is 
a  common  protector  of  each  and  all  the  States  ;  of  every 
man  who  lives  upon  our  soil,  whether  of  native  or  fore'gn 
birth;  of  every  religious  sect,  in  their  worship  of  the 
Almighty  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  con 
science;  of  every  shade  of  opinion,  and  the  most  free 
inquiry;  of  every  art,  trade,  and  occupation,  consistent 
with  the  laws  of  the  States.  And  we  rejoice  in  the 
general  happiness,  prosperity,  and  advancement  of  our 
country,  which  have  been  the  offspring  of  freedom,  and 
not  of  power. 

This  most  admirable  and  wisest  system  of  well-regu 
lated  self  government  among  men,  ever  devised  by  human 
minds,  has  been  tested  by  its  successful  operation  for 
more  than  half  a  century  ;  and,  if  preserved  from  the 
usurpations  of  the  federal  government  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  exercise  by  the  States  of  powers  not  reserved  to 
them  on.  the  other,  will,  I  fervently  hope  and  believe, 
endure  for  ages  to  come,  and  dispense  the  blessings  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty  to  distant  generations.  To  ef 
fect  objects  so  dear  to  every  patriot,  I  shall  devote  my 
self  with  anxious  solicitude.  It  will  be  my  desire  to 
guard  against  that  most  fruitful  source  of  danger  to  the 
harmonious  action  of  our  system,  which  consists  in  sub 
stituting  the  mere  discretion  and  caprice  of  the  executive, 
23 


266  FOLK'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 

or  of  majorities  in  the  legislative  department  of  the 
government,  for  powers  which  have  been  withheld  from 
the  federal  government  by  the  constitution.  By  the 
theory  of  our  government,  majorities  rule  ;  but  this  right 
is  not  an  arbitrary  or  unlimited  one.  It  is  a  right  to  be 
exercised  in  subordination  to  the  constitution,  and  in 
conformity  to  it.  One  great  object  of  the  constitution 
was  to  restrain  majorities  from  oppressing  minorities,  or 
encroaching  upon  their  just  rights.  Minorities  have  a 
right  to  appeal  to  the  constitution,  as  a  shield  against 
such  oppression. 

That  the  blessings  of  liberty  which  our  constitution 
secures  may  be  enjoyed  alike  by  minorities  and  majori 
ties,  the  executive  has  been  wisely  invested  with  a  quali 
fied  veto  upon  the  acts  of  the  Legislature.  It  is  a  nega 
tive  power,  and  is  conservative  in  its  character.  It 
arrests  for  the  time,  hasty,  inconsiderate,  or  unconstitu 
tional  legislation  ;  invites  reconsideration,  and  tranfers 
questions  at  issue  between  the  legislative  and  executive 
departments  to  the  tribunal  of  the  people.  Like  all 
other  powers,  it  is  subject  to  be  abused.  When  judi 
ciously  and  properly  exercised,  the  constitution  itself 
may  be  saved  from  infraction,  and  the  rights  of  all  pre 
served  and  protected. 

The  inestimable  value  of  our  federal  Union  is  felt  and 
acknowledged  by  all.  By  this  system  of  united  and 
confederated  States,  our  people  are  permitted,  collectively 
and  individually,  to  seek  their  own  happiness  in  their 
own  way  ;  and  the  consequences  have  been  most  auspi 
cious.  Since  the  Union  was  formed,  the  number  of  the 
States  has  increased  from  thirteen  to  twenty-eight :  two 
of  these  have  taken  their  positions  as  members  of  the 
confederacy  within  the  last  week.  Our  population  has 
increased  from  three  to  twenty  millions.  New  commu 
nities  and  States  are  seeking  prelection  under  its  ffigis, 
and  multitudes  from  the  Old  World  are  flocking  to  our 
shores  to  participate  in  its  blessings.  Beneath  its  be 
nign  sway,  peace  and  prosperity  prevail.  Freed  from 
the  burdens  and  miseries  of  war,  our  trade  and  inter 
course  have  extended  throughout  the  world.  Mind,  no 
longer  tasked  in  devising  means  to  accomplish  or  resist 


FOLK'S  INAUGURAL  ACDRESS.  237 

schemes  of  ambition,  usurpation,  or  conquest,  is  devo 
ting  itself  to  man's  true  interests,  in  developing  his 
faculties  and  powers,  and  the  capacity  of  nature  to  minis 
ter  to  his  enjoyments.  Genius  is  free  to  announce  its 
inventions  and  discoveries ;  and  the  hand  is  free  to  ac 
complish  whatever  the  head  conceives,  not  incompatible 
with  the  rights  of  a  fellow  being.  All  distinctions  of 
birth  or  of  rank  have  been  abolished.  All  citizens, 
whether  native  or  adopted,  are  placed  upon  terms  of 
precise  equality.  All  are  entitled  to  equal  rights  and 
equal  protection.  No  union  exists  between  church  and 
state,  and  perfect  freedom  of  opinion  is  guarantied  to  all 
sects  and  creeds. 

These  are  some  of  the  blessings  secured  to  our  happy 
land  by  our  federal  Union.  To  perpetuate  them,  it  is 
our  sacred  duty  to  preserve  it.  Who  shall  assign  limits 
to  the  achievements  of  free  minds  and  free  hands,  under 
the  protection  of  this  glorious  Union  ?  No  treason  to 
mankind,  since  the  organization  of  society,  would  be 
equal  in  atrocity  to  that  of  him  who  would  lift  his  hand 
to  destroy  it.  He  would  overthrow  the  noblest  struc 
ture  of  human  wisdom,  which  protects  himself  and  his 
fellow-man.  He  would  stop  the  progress  of  free  govern 
ment,  and  involve  his  country  either  in  anarchy  or  despo 
tism.  He  would  extinguish  the  fire  of  liberty  which  warms 
and  animates  the  hearts  of  happy  millions,  and  invites  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  to  imitate  our  example.  If  he  say 
that  error  and  wrong  are  committed  in  the  administration 
of  the  government,  let  him  remember  that  nothing  human 
can  be  perfect;  and  that  under  no  other  system  of  gov 
ernment  revealed  by  Heaven,  or  devised  by  man,  has 
reason  been  allowed  so  free  and  broad  a  scope  to  combat 
error.  Has  the  sword  of  despots  proved  to  be  a  safer  or 
surer  instrument  of  reform  in  government  than  en 
lightened  reason  ?  Does  he  expect  to  find  among  the 
ruins  of  this  Union  a  happier  abode  for  our  swarming 
millions  than  they  now  have  under  it?  Every  lover  of 
his  country  must  shudder  at  the  thought  of  the  possibility 
of  its  dissolution,  and  will  be  ready  to  adopt  the  patriotic 
sentiment,  "  Our  federal  Union — it  must  be  preserved." 
To  preserve  it,  the  compromises  which  alone  enabled 


208  FOLK'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 

our  fathers  to  form  a  common  constitution  for  the  govern 
ment  and  protection  of  so  many  States,  and  distinct  com 
munities,  of  such  diversified  habits,  interests,  and  do 
mestic  institutions,  must  be  sacredly  and  religiously  ob 
served.  Any  attempt  to  disturb  or  destroy  these  com 
promises,  being  terms  of  the  compact  of  Union,  can  lead 
to  none  other  than  the  most  ruinous  and  disastrous  con 
sequences. 

It  is  a  source  of  deep  regret  that,  in  some  sections  of 
our  country,  misguided  persons  have  occasionally  in 
dulged  in  schemes  and  agitations,  whose  object  is  the 
destruction  of  domestic  institutions  existing  in  other 
sections — institutions  which  existed  at  the  adoption  of 
the  constitution,  and  were  recognized  and  protected  by 
it.  All  must  see  that  if  it  were  possible  for  them  to  be 
successful  in  attaining  their  object,  the  dissolution  of  the 
Union,  and  the  consequent  destruction  of  our  happy  form 
of  government,  must  speedily  follow. 

1  am  happy  to  believe  that  at  every  period  of  our 
existence  as  a  nation,  there  has  existed,  and  continues 
to  exist,  among  the  great  mass  of  our  people,  a  devotion 
to  the  Union  of  the  Mates,  which  will  shield  and  pro 
tect  it  against  the  moral  treason  of  any  who  would  seri 
ously  contemplate  its  destruction.  To  secure  a  continu 
ance  of  that  devotion,  the  compromises  of  the  constitu 
tion  must  not  only  be  preserved,  but  sectional  jealousies 
and  heart-burnings  must  be  discountenanced  ;  and  all 
should  remember  that  they  are  members  of  the  same 
political  family,  having  a  common  destiny.  To  increase 
the  attachment  of  rur  people  to  the  Union,  our  laws 
should  be  just.  Any  policy  which  shall  tend  to  favor 
monopolies,  or  the  peculiar  interests  of  sections  or  classes, 
must  operate  to  the  prejudice  of  the  interests  of  their 
fellow-citizens,  and  should  be  avoided.  If  tbe  comprom 
ises  of  the  constitution  be  preserved, — if  sectional 
jealousies  and  heart-burnings  be  discountenanced,— if 
our  laws  be  jnst,  ar.d  the  government  be  practically  ad 
ministered  strictly  within  the  limits  of  power  presciibed 
to  it, — we  may  discard  all  apprehensions  for  the  safety 
of  the  Union. 

With  these  views  of  the  nature,  character,  and  objects 


POLK'3    INAUGURAL    ADDRESS.  269 

of  the  government,  and  the  value  of  the  Union,  I  shall 
steadily  oppose  the  creation  of  those  institutions  ami  sys 
tems  which,  in  their  nature,  tend  to  pervert  it  from  its 
legitimate  purposes,  and  make  it  the  instrument  of  sec 
tions,  classes,  and  individuals.  We  need  no  national 
banks,  or  other  extraneous  institutions,  planted  around 
the  government  to  control  or  strengthen  it  in  opposition 
to  the  will  of  its  authors.  Experience  has  taught  us 
how  unnecessary  they  are  as  auxiliaries  of  the  public 
authorities,  how  impotent  for  good,  and  how  powerful 
for  mischief. 

Ours  was  intended  to  be  a  plain  and  frugal  govern 
ment  ;  and  1  shall  regard  it  to  be  my  duty  to  recommend 
to  Congress,  and,  as  far  as  the  executive  is  concerned, 
lo  enforce  by  all  the  means  within  my  power,  the  strict 
est  economy  in  the  expenditure  of  the  public  money, 
which  may  be  compatible  with  the  public  interest. 

A  national  debt  has  become  almost  an  institution  of 
European  monarchies.  It  is  viewed,  in  some  of  them, 
as  an  essential  prop  to  existing  governments.  Melan 
choly  is  the  condition  of  that  people  whose  government 
can  be  sustained  only  by  a  system  which  periodically 
transfers  large  amounts  from  the  labor  of  the  many  to  the 
coffers  of  the  few.  Such  a  system  is  incompatible  with 
the  ends  for  which  our  republican  government  was  insti 
tuted.  Under  a  wise  policy,  the  debts  contracted  in  oui 
revolution,  and  during  the  war  of  1812,  have  been  hap 
pily  extinguished.  By  a  judicious  application  of  the 
revenues,  not  required  for  other  necessary  purposes,  it 
is  not  doubted  that  the  debt  which  has  grown  out  of  the 
circumstances  of  the  last  few  years  may  be  speedily 
paid  off. 

I  congratulate  my  fellow-citizens  on  the  entire  restora 
tion  of  the  credit  of  the  general  government  of  the  Union, 
and  that  of  many  of  the  States.  Happy  would  it  be  for 
the  indebted  States  if  they  were  freed  from  their  liabili 
ties,  many  of  which  were  incautiously  contracted.  Al 
though  the  government  of  the  Union  is  neither  in  a  legal 
nor  a  moral  sense  bound  for  the  debts  of  the  States,  and 
it  would  be  a  violation  of  our  compact  of  Union  to  as- 
them,  yet  we  cannot  but  feel  a  deep  interest  in 
23* 


570  FOLK'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 

seeing-  all  the  States  meet  their  public  liabilities,  and  pay 
off  th:>ir  just  debts,  at  the  earliest  practicable  period. 
That  they  will  do  so,  as  soon  as  it  can  be  done  without 
imposing  too  heavy  burdens  on  their  citizens,  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt.  The  sound,  moral,  and  honorable 
feeling  of  the  people  of  the  indebted  States,  cannot  be 
questioned  ;  and  we  are  happy  to  perceive  a  settled  dis 
position  on  their  part,  as  their  ability  returns,  after  a 
season  of  unexampled  pecuniary  embarrassment,  to  pay 
off  all  just  demands,  and  to  acquiesce  in  any  reasonable 
measures  to  accomplish  that  object. 

One  of  the  difficulties  which  we  have  had  to  encoun 
ter  in  the  practical  administration  of  the  government, 
consists  in  the  adjustment  of  our  revenue  laws,  and  the 
levy  of  the  taxes  necessary  for  the  support  of  the  govern 
ment.  In  the  general  proposition,  that  no  more  money 
shall  be  collected  than  the  necessities  of  an  economical 
administration  shall  require,  all  parties,  seem  to  acquiesce. 
Nor  does  there  seem  to  be  any  material  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  absence  of  right  in  the  government  to 
tax  one  section  of  country,  or  one  class  of  citizens,  or 
one  occupation,  for  the  mere  profit  of  another.  *•  Jus 
tice  and  sound  policy  forbid  the  federal  government  to 
foster  one  branch  of  industry  to  thn  detriment  of  another, 
or  to  cherish  the  interests  of  one  portion  to  the  injury  of 
another  portion  of  our  common  country."  I  have  here 
tofore  declared  to  my  fellow-citizens  that,  in  4i  my  judg 
ment,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  government  to  extend,  as  far 
as  it  may  be  practicable  to  do  so,  by  its  revenue  laws, 
and  all  other  means  within  its  power,  fair  and  just  protec 
tion  to  all  the  great  interests  of  the  whole  Union,  embra 
cing  agriculture,  manufactures,  the  mechanic  arts,  com 
merce  and  navigation."  I  have  also  declared  my  opinion  to 
be  "in  favor  of  a  tariff  for  revenue,''  and  that  "  in  adjusting 
the  details  of  such  a  tariff,  I  have  sanctioned  such  mode 
rate  discriminating  duties  as  would  produce  the  amount 
of  revenue  needed,  and,  at  the  same  time,  afford  reason 
able  incidental  protection  to  our  home  industry,"  and 
that  I  was  "  opposed  to  a  tariff  for  protection  merely, 
and  not  for  revenue." 

The  power  "  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imports, 


FOLK'S    INAUGURAL    ADDRESS.  271 

and  excises,"  was  an  indispensable  one  to  be  conferred 
on  the  federal  government,  which,  without  it,  would 
possess  no  means  of  providing  for  its  own  support.  In 
executing  this  power,  by  levying  a  tariff  of  duties  for 
the  support  of  government,  the  raising  of  revenue  should 
be  the  object,  and  protection  the  incident.  To  reverse 
this  principle,  and  make  protection  the  object,  and 
revenue  the  incident,  would  be  to  inflict  manifest  injus 
tice  upon  all  other  than  the  protected  interests.  In  levy 
ing  duties  for  revenue,  it  is  doubtless  proper  to  make 
such  discriminations  within  the  revenue  principle,  as 
will  afford  incidental  protection  to  our  home  interests. 
Within  the  revenue  limit,  there  is  discretion  to  discrim 
inate  ;  beyond  that  limit,  the  rightful  exercise  of  the 
power  is  not  conceded.  The  incidental  protection  af 
forded  to  our  home  interests  by  discriminations  within 
the  revenue  range,  it  is  believed  will  be  ample.  In 
making  discriminations,  all  our  home  interests  should, 
as  far  as  practicable,  be  equally  protected.  The  largest 
portion  of  our  people  are  agriculturists.  Others  are  em 
ployed  in  manufactures,  commerce,  navigation,  and  the 
mechanic  arts.  They  are  all  engaged  in  their  respective 
pursuits,  and  their  joint  labors  constitute  the  national  or 
home  industry.  To  tax  one  branch  of  this  home  indus 
try  for  the  benefit  of  another,  would  be  unjust.  No  one 
of  these  interests  can  rightfully  claim  an  advantage  over 
the  others,  or  to  be  enriched  by  impoverishing  the  others. 
All  are  equally  entitled  to  the  fostering  care  and  protec 
tion  of  the  government.  In  exercising  a  sound  discre 
tion  in  levying  discriminating  duties  within  the  limit 
prescribed,  care  should  be  taken  that  it  be  done  in  a 
manner  not  to  benefit  the  wealthy  few,  at  the  expense 
of  the  toiling  millions,  by  taxing  lowest  the  luxuries  of 
life,  or  articles  of  superior  quality  and  high  price,  which 
can  only  be  consumed  by  the  wealthy ;  and  highest  the 
necessaries  of  life,  or  articles  of  course  quality  and  low 
price,  which  the  poor  and  great  mass  of  our  people  must 
consume.  The  burdens  of  government  should,  as  far  as 
practicable,  be  distributed  justly  and  equally  among  all 
classes  of  our  population.  These  general  views,  long 
entertained  on  this  subject,  1  have  deemed  it  proper  to 


272  FOLK'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 

reiterate.  It  is  a  subject  upon  which  conflicting  interests 
of  sections  and  occupations  are  supposed  to  exist,  and  a 
spirit  of  mutual  concession  and  compromise  in  adjusting 
its  details  should  be  cherished  by  every  part  of  our  wide 
spread  country,  as  the  only  means  of  preserving  harmo 
ny  and  a  cheerful  acquiescence  of  all  in  the  operation  of 
our  revenue  laws.  Our  patriotic  citizens  in  every  part 
of  the  Union  will  readily  submit  to  the  payment  of  such 
taxes  as  shall  be  needed  for  the  support  of  their  govern 
ment,  whether  in  peace  or  in  war,  if  they  are  solevied  as 
to  distribute  the  burdens  as  equally  as  possible  among  them. 

The  Republic  of  Texas  has  made  known  her  desire  to 
come  into  our  Union,  to  form  a  part  of  our  confederacy, 
and  enjoy  with  us  the  blessings  of  liberty  secured  and 
guarantied  by  our  constitution.  Texas  was  once  a  part 
of  our  country — was  unwisely  ceded  away  to  a  foreign 
power — is  now  independent  and  possesses  an  undoubted 
right  to  dispose  of  a  part  or  the  whole  of  her  territory, 
and  to  merge  her  sovereignty,  as  a  seperate  and  indepen 
dent  State,  in  ours.  I  congratulate  my  country  that,  by 
an  act  of  the  late  Congress  of  the  United  States,  the  as 
sent  of  this  government  has  been  given  to  the  re-union  ; 
and  it  only  remains  for  the  two  countries  to  agree  upon 
the  terms,  to  consummate  an  object  so  important  to  both. 

I  regard  the  question  of  annexation  as  belonging  ex 
clusively  to  the  United  States  and  Texas.  They  are  in 
dependent  powers,  competent  to  contract;  and  foreign 
nations  have  no  right  to  interfere  with  them,  or  to  take 
exceptions  to  their  re-union.  Foreign  powers  do  not 
seem  to  appreciate  the  true  character  of  our  government. 
Our  Union  is  a  confederation  of  independent  States, 
whose  policy  is  peace  with  each  other  and  all  the  world. 
To  enlarge  its  limits  is  to  extend  the  dominion  of  peace 
over  additional  territories  and  increasing  millions.  The 
world  has  nothing  to  fear  from  military  ambition  in  our 
government.  While  the  chief  magistrate  and  the  popu 
lar  branch  of  Congress  are  elected  for  short  terms  by  the 
suffrages  of  those  millions  who  must,  in  their  own  per 
sons,  bear  all  the  burdens  and  miseries  of  war,  our  gov 
ernment  cannot  be  otherwise  than  pacific.  Foreign 
powers  should,  therefore,  look  on  the  annexation  of  Tex- 


273 

as  to  the  United  States,  not  as  the  conquest  of  a  nation 
seeking  to  extend  her  dominions  by  arms  and  violence, 
but  as  the  peaceful  acquisition  of  a  territory  once  her 
own,  by  adding  another  member  to  our  confederation, 
with  the  consent  of  that  member — thereby  diminishing 
the  chanches  of  war,  and  opening  to  them  new  and  ever- 
increasing  markets  for  their  products. 

To  Texas  there-union  is  important,  because  the  strong 
protecting  arm  of  our  government  would  be  extended 
over  her,  and  the  vast  resources  of  her  fertile  soil  and 
genial  climate  would  be  speedily  developed;  while  the 
safety  of  New  Orleans,  and  of  our  whole  southwestern 
frontier  against  hostile  aggression,  as  w<jll  as  the  interests 
of  the  whole  Union,  would  be  promoted  by  it. 

In  the  earlier  stages  of  our  national  existence,  the 
opinion  prevailed  with  some,  that  our  system  of  confe 
derated  States  could  not  operate  successfully  over  an  ex 
tended  territory,  and  serious  objections  have,  at  different 
limes,  been  made  to  the  enlargement  of  our  boundaries. 
These  objections  were  earnestly  urged  when  we  acquired 
Louisiana.  Experience  has  shown  that  they  were  not 
well  founded.  The  title  of  numerous  Indian  tribes  to 
vasttractsof  country  has  been  extinquished.  New  States 
have  been  admitted  into  the  Union  :  new  Territories  have 
been  created,  and  our  jurisdiction  and  laws  extended 
over  them.  As  our  population  has  expanded,  the  Union 
has  been  cemented  and  strengthened  ;  as  our  boundaries 
have  been  enlarged,  and  our  agricultural  population  has 
been  spread  over  a  large  surface,  our  federative  system 
has  acquired  additional  strength  and  security.  It  may 
well  be  doubted  whether  it  would  not  be  in  greater  dan 
ger  of  overthrow  if  our  present  population  were  confined 
to  the  comparatively  narrow  limits  of  the  original  thirteen 
States,  than  it  is,  now  that  they  are  sparsely  settled  over 
a  more  expanded  territory.  It  is  confidently  believed 
that  our  system  may  be  safely  extended  to  the  utmost 
bounds  of  our  territorial  limits  ;  and  that,  as  it  shall  be 
extended,  the  bonds  of  our  Union,  so  far  from  being 
weakened,  will  become  stronger. 

None  can  fail  to  see  the  danger  to  our  safety  and  future 
peace,  if  Texas  remains  an  independent  State,  or  becomes 


274  FOLK'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 

an  ally  or  dependency  of  some  foreign  nation  more  pow 
erful  thsn  herself.  Is  there  one  among  our  citizens  who 
would  not  prefer  perpetual  peace  with  Texas,  to  occa 
sional  wars,  which  so  often  occur  between  bordering  in 
dependent  nations  ?  Is  there  one  who  would  not  prefer 
free  intercourse  with  her,  to  high  duties  on  all  our  pro 
ducts  and  manufactures  which  enter  her  ports  or  cross 
her  frontiers  ?  Is  there  one  who  would  not  prefer  an 
unrestricted  communication  with  her  citizens,  to  the 
frontier  obstructions  which  must  occur  if  she  remains  out 
of  the  Union  ?  Whatever  is  good  or  evil  in  the  local 
institutions  of  Texas,  will  remain  her  own,  whether  an 
nexed  to  the  United  States  or  not.  None  of  the  present 
States  will  be  responsible  for  them,  any  more  than  they 
are  for  the  local  institutions  of  each  other.  They  have 
confederated  together  for  certain  specified  objects.  Upon 
the  same  principle  that  they  would  refuse  to  form  a  per 
petual  union  with  Texas,  because  of  her  local  institutions, 
our  forefathers  would  have  been  prevented  from  forming 
our  present  Union.  Perceiving  no  valid  objection  to  the 
measure,  and  many  reasons  for  its  adoption,  vitally  affect 
ing  the  peace,  the  safety,  and  the  prosperity  of  both 
countries,  I  shall,  on  the  broad  principle  which  formed 
the  basis  and  produced  the  adoption  of  our  constitution, 
and  not  in  any  narrow  spirit  of  sectional  policy,  endea 
vor,  by  all  constitutional,  honorable,  and  appropriate 
means,  to  consummate  the  expressed  will  of  the  people 
and  government  of  the  United  States,  by  the  re-annexa 
tion  of  Texas  to  our  Union  at  the  earliest  practicable  pe 
riod. 

Nor  will  it  become  in  a  less  degree  my  duty  to  assert 
and  maintain,  by  all  constitutional  means,  the  right  of  the 
United  States  to  that  portion  of  our  territory  which  lies 
beyond  the  Rocky  mountains.  Our  title  to  the  country 
of  the  Oregon  is  "clear  and  unquestionable;"  and  al 
ready  are  our  people  preparing  to  perfect  that  title,  by 
occupying  it  with  their  wives  and  children.  But  eighty 
years  ago,  our  population  was  confined  on  the  west  by 
the  ridge  of  the  Alleghanies.  Within  that  period — within 
the  lifetime,  I  might  say,  of  some  of  my  hearers — our 
people,  increasing  to  many  millions,  have  filled  the  east- 


FOLK'S    INAUGURAL    ADDRESS.  275 

ern  valley  of  the  Mississippi;  adventurously  ascended 
the  Missouri  to  its  head  springs  ;  and  are  already  engaged 
in  establishing  the  blessings  of  self-government  in  val 
leys,  of  which  the  rivers  flow  to  the  Pacific.  The  world 
beholds  the  peaceful  triumphs  of  the  industry  of  our 
emigrants.  To  us  belongs  the  duty  of  protecting  them, 
adequately,  wherever  they  may  be  upon  our  soil.  The 
jurisdiction  of  our  laws,  and  the  benefits  of  our  republi 
can  institutions,  should  be  extended  over  them  in  the  dis 
tant  regions  which  they  have  selected  for  their  homes. 
The  increasing  facilities  of  intercourse  will  easily  bring 
the  States,  of  which  the  formation  in  that  part  of  our 
territory  cannot  be  long  delayed,  within  the  sphere  of 
our  federative  Union.  In  the  mean  time,  every  obliga 
tion  imposed  by  treaty  or  conventional  stipulations  should 
be  sacredly  respected. 

In  the  management  of  our  foreign  relations,  it  will  be 
my  aim  to  observe  a  careful  respect  for  the  rights  of  other 
nations,  while  our  own  will  be  the  subject  of  constant 
watchfulness.  Equal  and  exact  justice  should  charac 
terize  all  our  intercourse  with  foreign  countries.  All 
alliances  having  a  tendency  to  jeqpard  the  welfare  and 
honor  of  our  country,  or  sacrifice  any  one  of  the  national 
interests,  will  be  studiously  avoided  ;  and  yet  no  oppor 
tunity  will  be  lost  to  cultivate  a  favorable  understanding 
with  foreign  governments,  by  which  our  navigation  and 
commerce  may  be  extended,  and  the  ample  products  of 
our  fertile  soil,  as  well  as  the  manufactures  of  our  skillful 
artizans,  find  a  ready  market  and  remunerating  prices  in 
foreign  countries. 

In  taking  "  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed," 
a  strict  performance  of  duty  will  be  exacted  from  all 
public  officers.  From  those  officers,  especially,  who  are 
charged  with  the  collection  and  disbursement  of  the  pub 
lic  revenue,  will  prompt  and  rigid  accountability  be  re 
quired.  Any  culpable  failure  or  delay  on  their  part  to 
account  for  the  moneys  intrusted  to  them,  at  the  times 
and  in  the  manner  required  by  law,  will,  in  every  instance, 
terminate  the  official  connexion  of  such  defaulting  officer 
with  the  government. 

Although,  in  our  country,  the  chief  magistrate  must 


276 

almost  of  necessity  be  chosen  by  a  party,  and  stand 
pledged  to  its  principles  anil  measures,  yet,  in  his  official 
action,  he  should  not  be  the  President  of  a  part  only, 
but  of  the  whole  people  of  the  United  States.  While 
he  executes  the  laws  with  an  impartial  hand,  shrinks  from 
no  proper  responsibilily,  and  faithfully  carries  out  in  the 
executive  department  of  the  government  the  principles 
and  policy  of  those  who  have  chosen  him,  he  should  not 
be  unmindful  that  our  fellow  citizens  who  have  differed 
with  him  in  opinion,  are  entitled  to  the  full  and  free  ex 
ercise  of  their  opinions  and  judgments,  and  that  the  rights 
of  ?11  are  entitled  to  respect  and  regard. 

Confidently  relying  upon  the  aid  and  assistance  of  the 
co-ordinate  departments  of  the  government  in  conducting 
our  public  affairs,!  enter  upon  the  discharge  of  the  high 
duties  which  have  been  assigned  me  by  the  people,  again 
humbly  supplicating  that  Divine  Being  who  has  watched 
over  and  protected  our  beloved  country  from  its  infancy 
to  the  present  hour,  to  continue  His  gracious  benedictions 
upon  us,  that  we  may  continue  to  be  a  prosperous  and 
happy  people. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


WE,  the  People  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a 
more  perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic 
tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote 
the  gensral  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty 
to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish 
this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE  I. 

SKC.  I. — All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be 
vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall 
consist  of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

SKC.  II. —  I.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be 
composed  of  members  chosen  every  second  year,  by  the 
people  of  the  several  states:  and  the  electors  in  each 
state  shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of 
the  most  numerous  branch  of  the  state  legislature. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not 
have  attained  the  age  of  twenty  five  years,  and  been  seven 
years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not, 
when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  state  in  which  he 
shall  be  chosen. 

3.  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  he  apportion 
ed  among  the  several  states  which  may  be  included  within 
this  union,  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  which 
shall  he  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of 
free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term 
of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of 
all  other  persons.     The  actual  enumeration  shall  be  made 
within  three  years  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  and  within  every  subsequent  term 
of  ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  by  law  direct. 
The  number  of  Representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for 
every  thirty  thousand,  but  each  state  shall  have  at  least 
one  representative  :  and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be 
made,  the  state  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to 


6  CONSTITUTION 

choose  three  ;  Massachusetts,  eight ;  Rhode  Island  and 
Providence  Plantations,  one ;  Connecticut,  five  ;  New 
York,  six ;  New  Jersey,  four ;  Pennsylvania,  eight ;  Dela 
ware,  one ;  Maryland,  six ;  Virginia,  ten ;  North  Caroli 
na,  five ;  South  Carolina,  five ;  Georgia,  three. 

4.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from 
any  state,  the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs 
of  election  to  fill  such  vacancies. 

5.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose   their 
speaker  and  other  officers,  and  shall  have  the  sole  power 
of  impeachment. 

SEC.  III.— I.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall 
be  composed  of  two  senators  from  each  state,  chosen  by 
the  legislature  thereof,  for  six  years  ;  and  each  senator 
shall  have  one  vote. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  conse 
quence   of  the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided,  as 
equally  as  may  be,  into  three  classes.     The  seats  of  the 
senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expira 
tion  of  the  second  year,  of  the  second  class  at  the  expi 
ration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  the  third  class  at  the  expi 
ration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one-third  may  be  chosen 
every    second  year ;  and  if  vacancies  happen  by  resig 
nation  or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the  legislature 
of  any  state,  the  executive  thereof  may  make  temporary 
appointments  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  legislature, 
which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have 
attained  the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when 
elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  state  for  which  he  shall 
be  chosen. 

4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
President  of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless 
they  be  equally  divided. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also 
a  president  pro  tern  pore  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice  Pre 
sident,  or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  office  of  President 
of  the  United  States. 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  im 
peachments.  When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  7 

on  oath  or  affirmation.  When  the  President  of  the  Uni 
ted  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside;  and 
no  person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  concurrence  of 
two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

7.  Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  not  extend 
further  than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to 
hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit  under 
the  United  States ;  but  the  party  convicted  shall,  never 
theless,  be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judg 
ment,  and  punishment  according  to  law. 

SEC.  IV. — 1.  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  hold 
ing  elections  for  senators  and  representatives  shall  be 
prescribed  in  each  state, by  the  legislature  thereof;  but 
the  Congress  may,  at  any  time,  by  law,  make  or  alter 
such  regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing 
senators. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every 
year;  and  such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in 
December,  unless  they  shall  by  law  appoint  a  different 
day. 

-  SEC.  V. — 1 .  Each  house  shall  be  judge  of  the  elec 
tions,  returns  and  qualifications  of  its  own  members;  and 
a  majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  busi 
ness;  but  a  smaller  numbermay  adjourn  from  day  to  day, 
and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  ab 
sent  members,  in  such  manner,  and  under  such  penalties, 
as  each  house  may  provide. 

2.  Each  house  may  determine  the   rules  of  its  pro 
ceedings,  punish  its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and 
with  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds,  expel  a  member. 

3.  Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings, 
and  from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such 
parts  as  may,  in  their  judgment,  require  secrecy;  and  the 
yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  house  on  any 
question  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those  present, 
be  entered  on  the  journal. 

4.  Neither   house,    during   the   session  of  Congress, 
shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more 
than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in  which 
the  two  houses  shall  be  sitting. 

SEC.  VI. — 1.  The  senators  and  representatives  shall 
receive  a  compensation  for  their  services,  to  be  ascertain- 


CONSTITUTION 


ed  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States.  They  shall,  in  all  cases,  except  treason,  felony, 
and  breach  of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest,  during 
their  attendance  at  the  session  of  their  respective  houses, 
and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same;  and  for  any 
speech  or  debate  in  either  house,  they  shall  not  be  ques 
tioned  in  any  other  place. 

2.  No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time 
for  which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office 
under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have 
been  created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have  been 
increased,  during  such  time;  and  no  person  holding  any 
office  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  a  member  of  either 
house,  during  his  continuance  in  office. 

Si-c.  VII. —  1.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  ori 
ginate  in  the  House  of  Representatives;  but  the  Senate 
may  propose  or  concur  with  amendments  as  on  other 
bill's. 

2.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of 
Representatives  and  the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  become 
a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States; 
if  he  approve,  he  shall  sign  it;  but  if  not,  he  shall  return 
it  with  his  objections,  to  that  house  in  which  it  shall  have 
originated,  who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their 
journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.     If,  after  such  re 
consideration,  two-thirds  of  that  house  shall  agree  to  pass 
the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to 
the  other  house,  and  if  approved  by  two-thirds  of  that 
house,  it  shall  become  a  law.     But  in  all  such  cases,  the 
votes  of  both  houses  shall  be  determined  by    yeas  and 
nays;  and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against 
the  bill,  shall  be  entered  on  the  journals  of  each  house 
respectively.     If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned   by  the 
President   within    ten   days  (Sundays  excepled)  after  it 
shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law, 
in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  Congress,  by 
their  adjournment   prevent  its  return;  in  which  case  it 
shall  not  be  a  law. 

3.  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote,  to  which  the  con 
currence  of  the  Senate  and    House  of  Representatives 


OF  THE   UNITED  STATES.  9 

may  be  necessary  (except  on  a  question  of  adjournment) 
shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  , 
and  before  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be  approved 
by  him,  or  being  disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed 
by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa 
tives,  according  to  the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in 
the  case  of  a  bill. 

SEC.  VIII. — The  Congress  shall  have  power — 

1.  To  lay  and   collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  ex 
cises;  to  pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common  de 
fence  and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States;  but  all 
duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout 
the  United  States : 

2.  To  borrow    money   on  the    credit  of  the   United 
States: 

3.  To  regulate   commerce  with    foreign  nations   and 
among  the  several  states,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes  : 

4.  To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and 
uniform  laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies,  throughout 
the  United  States  : 

5.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of 
foreign  coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  mea 
sures  : 

6.  To  provide  for  the    punishment  of   counterfeiting 
the  securities  and  current  coin  of  the  United  States : 

7.  To  establish  post  offices  and  post  roads  : 

8.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts, 
by  securing  for  limited  times,  to  authors  and  inventors, 
the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings  and  dis 
coveries  : 

9.  To    constitute   tribunals   inferior   to   the   supreme 
court : 

10.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  commit 
ted  on  the  high  seas,  and  offences  against  the  law  of  na 
tions  : 

11.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  re 
prisal,  and  make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and 
water: 

12.  To  raise  and  support  armies;  but  no  appropria 
tion  of  money  to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than 
two  years : 


10  CONSTITUTION* 

13.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy: 

14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation 
of  the  land  and  naval  forces  : 

15.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute 
the  la\\  s  "of  the  union,  suppress  insurrections,  and  repel 
invasions: 

16.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming  and  disciplining 
the  militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may 
be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  reserv 
ing  to  the  states  respectively  the  appointment  of  the  offi 
cers,  and  the   authority  of  training  the  militia,  according 
to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress : 

17.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation,  in  all  cases  what 
soever,  over  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square) 
as  may,  by  cession  of  particular  states,  and  the  accept 
ance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  government  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all  places 
purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the  slate 
in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for   the  erection  of   forts, 
magazines,  arsenals,  dock-yards,  and  other  needful  build 
ings:  And, 

18.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and 
proper  for  carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers, 
and  all    other  powers  vested  by  this  constitution  in  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department 
or  officer  thereof. 

SKC.  IX. — 1.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such 
persons  as  any  of  the  states,  now  existing,  shall  think 
proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress 
prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight: 
but  a  tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation, 
not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person. 

2.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not 
be  suspended,  unless,  when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  inva 
sion,  the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

3.  No  bill  of  attainder,  or  ex  post  facto  law,  shall  be 
passed. 

4.  No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  un 
less  in  proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration  herein 
before  directed  to  be  taken. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  11 

5.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported 
from  any  state.     No  preference  shall  be  given,  by  any 
regulation  of  commerce  or  revenue,  to  the  ports  of  one 
state  over  those  of  another  ;  nor  shall  vessels  bound  to  or 
from  one  state  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties 
in  another. 

6.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in 
consequence  of  appropriations  made  by  law;  and  a  regu 
lar  statement  and  account  of  the  receipts  and  expendi 
tures  of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from  time  to 
time. 

7.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United 
States;  and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust 
under  them  shall,  without  tlie  consent  of  the  Congress, 
accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office  or  title  of  any 
kind  whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  state. 

SKC.  X. —  I.  No  state  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alli 
ance,  or  confederation  ;  grant  letters  of  marque  and  repri 
sal;  coin  money;  emit  bills  of  credit;  make  any  thing 
but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts  ; 
pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  im 
pairing  the  obligation  of  contracts  ;  or  grant  any  title  of 
nobility. 

2.  No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress, 
lay  any  imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except 
what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  in 
spection  laws;  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties  and  im 
ports  laid  by  any  state  on  imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for 
the  u-e  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States ;  and  all 
such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of 
the  Congress.  No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of 
Congress,  lay  any  duty  on  tonnage,  keep  troops  or  ships 
of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into  any  agreement  or 
compact  with  another  state  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or 
engage  in  war,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  immi 
nent  danger  as  will  not  fidmit  of  delay. 

ARTICLE  II. 

SF.C.  1  — The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America.  He  shall 
hold  his  office  during  the  term  of  four  years,  and,  together 


12  CONSTITUTION 

with   the  Vice-President,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be 
elected  as  follows : 

2.  Each  state  shall  appoint  in  such  manner  as  the  le 
gislature  thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors,  equal 
to  the  whole  number  of  senators  and  representatives  to 
which  the  state  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress ;  but  no 
senator  or  representative,  or  person  holding  an  office  of 
trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  appointed 
an  elector. 

3.  [Annulled.     See  Amendments,  art.  12.] 

4.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing 
the  electors,  and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their 
votes ;  which  day  shall  be  the  same  throughout  the  Uni 
ted  States. 

5.  No  person  except  a  natural-born  citizen,  or  a  citi 
zen  of  the  United  States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of 
this  constitution,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  Presi 
dent;  neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office, 
who  shall  not  have  attained  the  age  of  thirty-five  years, 
and   been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the    United 
States. 

6.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office, 
or  of  his  death,  resignation  or  inability  to  discharge  the 
powers  and  duties  of  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve 
on  the  Vice-President;  and  the  Congress  may  by  law 
provide  for  the  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation,  or  in 
ability,  both  of  the  President  and  Vice-President,  decla 
ring  what  officer  shall  then  act  as  President,  and  such  offi 
cer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  disability  be  removed, 
or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

7.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his 
services  a  compensation  which  shall  neither  be  increased 
nor  diminished  during  the  period  for  which  he  shall  have 
•been  elected;  and  he  shall  not  receive,  within  that  period, 
any  other  emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any  of 
them. 

8.  Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he 
shall  take  the  following  oath  or  affirmation: — 

"I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully 
execute  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  de 
fend  the  constitution  of  the  United  States." 


OF  THE   UNITED  STATES.  13 

SEC.  II. —  1.  The  President  shall  be  Commander-in- 
chief  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of 
the  militia  of  the  several  slates,  when  called  into  the  ac 
tual  service  of  the  United  States:  he  may  require  the 
opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the 
executive  departments,  upon  any  subject  relating  to  the 
duties  of  their  respective  offices;  and  he  shall  have  power 
to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offences  against  the 
United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

2.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds 
of  the  senators  present  concur;  and  he  shall  nominate, 
and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate, 
shall    appoint    ambassadors,  other  public    ministers  and 
consuls,  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  and  all  other  offi 
cers  of  the  United  States,  whose  appointments  are  not 
herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  esta 
blished  by  law.    But  the  Congress  may,  by  law,  vest  the 
appointment  of  such  inferior  offices  as  they  think  proper, 
in    the  President  alone,  in  the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the 
heads  of  departments. 

3.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacan 
cies  that  may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by 
granting  commissions  which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of 
their  next  session. 

SEC.  III. — 1.  He  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the 
Congress  information  of  the  state  of  the  union,  and  re 
commend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he 
shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient;  he  may,  on  extra 
ordinary  occasions,  convene  both  houses,  or  either  of 
them,  and  in  case  of  disagreement  between  them,  with 
respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  :hem 
to  such  time  as  he  may  think  proper;  he  shall  receive 
ambassadors,  and  other  public  ministers  ;  he  shall  take 
care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed  ;  and  shall  com 
mission  all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

SFC.  IV. —  I.  The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all 
civil  officers  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed  from 
office  on  impeachment  for,  and  conviction  of,  treason, 
bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 


14  CONSTITUTION 

ARTICLE  III. 

£|      o    "  .' 

SEC.  I. — 1.  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States 
shall  be  vested  in  one  supreme  court,  and  in  such  inferior 
courts  as  the  Congress  may,  from  time  to  time,  ordain  and 
establish.  The  judges,  both  of  the  supreme  and  inferior 
courts,  shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and 
shall  at  stated  times,  receive  for  their  services  a  compen 
sation  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  contin 
uance  in  office. 

SEC.  II. — I.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all 
cases  in  law  and  equity  arising  under  this  constitution,  the 
laws  of  the  United  States,  and  treaties  made,  or  which 
shall  be  made,  under  their  authority;  to  all  cases  affecting 
ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls;  to  all 
cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction;  to  contro 
versies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  party;  to 
controversies  between  two  or  more  states;  between  a 
state  and  citizens  of  another  state;  between  citizens  of 
different  states ;  between  citizens  of  the  same  state,  claim 
ing  lands  under  grants  of  different  states,  and  between 
a  state,  of  the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  stales,  citi 
zens  or  subjects. 

2.  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  mi 
nisters  and  consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  state  shall  be  a 
party,  the  supreme  court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction. 
In  all  other  cases  before  mentioned,  the  supreme  court 
shall  have  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact, 
with  such  exceptions,  and  under  such  regulations  as  the 
Congress  shall  make. 

3.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeach 
ment,  shall  be  by  jury;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the 
state  where  the  said  crimes  shall  have  been  committed; 
but  when  not  committed  within  any  state,  the  trial  shall 
be  at  such  place  or  places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law 
have  directed. 

SEC.  III. — 1.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall 
consist  only  in  levying  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering 
to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort.  No  per 
son  shall  be  convicted  of  treason,  unless  on  the  testimony 
of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  confessions  in 
open  court. 


OF   THE    LMTED   STATES.  15 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  pun 
ishment  of  treason  ;  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall 
work  corruption  of  blood,  or  forfeiture,  except  during  the 
life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

SEC.  I. — 1.  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each 
state  to  the  public  acts,  records,  and  judicial  proceedings 
of  every  other  state.  And  the  Congress  may,  by  general 
laws,  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records, 
and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

SEC.  II. — 1.  The  citizens  of  each  state  shall  be  end 
tied  to  all  privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the 
several  states. 

2.  A  person  charged  in  any  state  with  treason,  felony, 
or  other  crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found 
in  another  state,  shall,  on  demand  of  the  executive  au 
thority  of  the  state  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  to 
be  removed  to  the  state  having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

3.  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  state,  un 
der  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  con 
sequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged 
from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on 
claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be 
due. 

SEC.  III. — 1.  New  states  maybe  admitted  by  the  Con 
gress  into  this  union;  but  no  new  state  shall  be  formed 
or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  state;  nor 
any  state  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more 
states  or  parts  of  states,  without  the  consent  of  the  legis 
lature  of  the  states  concerned,  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and 
make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the 
territory  or  other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States ; 
and  nothing  in  this  constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as 
to  prejudice  any  claims  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any 
particular  state. 

SEC.  IV. — 1.  The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to 
every  state  in  this  union,  a  republican  form  of  govern 
ment,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion; 


1$  CONSTITUTION 

and,  on  application  of  the  legislature,  or  of  the  execu 
tive,  (when  the  legislature  cannot  be  convened,)  against 
domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE  V. 

1.  The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  houses 
shall  deem  it  necessary,  shall  propose  amendments  to  this 
constitution,  or  on  the  application  of  the  legislatures  of 
two-thirds  of  the  several  states,  shall  call  a  convention 
for  proposing  amendments,  which,  in  either  case,  shall  be 
valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  part  of  this  constitu 
tion,  when  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  three-fourths  of 
the  several  states,  or  by  conventions  in  three-fourths 
thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may 
be  proposed  by  the  Congress;  provided  that  no  amend 
ment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eight,  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the 
first  and  fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of  the  first 
article;  and  that  no  state,  without  its  consent,  shall  be 
deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

1.  All  debts  contracted,  and  engagements  entered  into, 
before  the  adoption  of  this  constitution,  shall  be  as  valid 
against  the  United  States  under  this  constitution's  under 
the  confederation. 

2.  This  constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
which  shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  trea 
ties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made  under  the  authority  of 
the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  ; 
and  the  judges  in  every  state  shall  be  bound  thereby  ;  any 
thing  in  the  constitution  or  laws  of  any  state  to  the  con 
trary  notwithstanding. 

3.  The  senators  and  representatives  before  mentioned, 
and  the  members  of  the  several  state  legislatures,  and  all 
executive  and  judicial  officers,  both  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  several  states,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affir 
mation  to  support  this  constitution  ;  but  no  religious  test 
shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or 
public  trust  under  the  United  States. 


OF   THE   UNITED  STATES. 

ARTICLE  VII. 


17 


1.  The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  states 
shall  be  sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  this  constitu 
tion  between  the  states  so  ratifying  the  same. 

Done  in  convention,  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the 
states  present,  the  seventeenth  day  of  September,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-seven,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  the  twelfth.  In  witness  whereof, 
we  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 

President,  and  Deputy  from  Virginia. 


New  Hampshire. 
JOHN  LANCDON, 
NICHOLAS  GILMAN. 

Massachusetts. 
NATHANIEL  GORIIAM, 
RUFUS  KING. 

Connecticut. 

WM.  SAMUEL  JOHNSON, 
ROGER  SHERMAN. 

New  York. 
ALEXANDER  HAMILTON. 

New  Jersey. 
WILLIAM  LIVINGSTON, 
DAVID  BREARLEY, 
WILLIAM  PATTERSON, 
JONATHAN  DAYTON. 

Pennsylvania. 
BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN, 
THOMAS  MIFFLIN, 
ROBERT  MORRIS, 
GEORGE  CLYMER, 
THOMAS  FITZSFMONS, 
JARED  INGERSOLL, 
JAMES  WILSON, 
GOVERNEUR  MORRIS. 


Delaware, 
GEORGE  REED, 
GUNNING  BEDFORD,  Jr. 
JOHN  DICKERSON, 
RICHARD  BASSETT, 
JACOB  BROOM. 

Maryland. 
JAMES  M'HENRY, 
DANIEL  JENIFER,  of  St.  Tho. 
DANIEL  CARROLL. 

Virginia. 
JOHN  BLAIR. 
JAMES  MADISON,  Jr. 

North  Carolina. 
WILLIAM  BLOUNT, 
RICH.  DOBBS  SPAIGHT, 
HUGH  WILLIAMSON. 

ftouth  Carolina. 
JOHN  RUTLEDGE, 
CHARLES  C.  PINCKNEY, 
CHARLES  PINCKNEY, 
PIERCE  BUTLER. 

Georgia. 
WILLIAM  FEW, 
ARRAHAM  BALDWIN. 


2 


Attest, 


WILLIAM  JACKSON,  Secretary 


18  CONSTITUTION 

AMENDMENTS  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION. 


ART.  I. — Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an 
establishment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exer 
cise  thereof;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of 
the  press;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  as 
semble  and  to  petition  the  government  for  a  redress  of 
grievances. 

ART.  II. — A  well-regulated  militia  being  necessary  to 
the  security  of  a  free  state,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep 
and  bear  arms  shall  not  be  infringed. 

ART.  ill. — No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quar 
tered  in  any  house  without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor 
in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

ART.  IV.— The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in 
their  persons,  houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against  unrea 
sonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  violated;  and 
no  warrants  shall  issue  but  upon  probable  cause,  support 
ed  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the 
place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be 
seized. 

ART.  V. — No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capi 
tal,  or  otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment 
or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in 
the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia  when  in  actual 
service,  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger;  nor  shall  any 
person  be  subject  for  the  same  offence  to  be  twice  put  in 
jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor  shall  be  compelled,  in  any 
criminal  case,  to  be  witness,  against  himself,  nor  be  de 
prived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process 
of  law;  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use 
without  just  compensation. 

ART.  VI. — In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused 
shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an 
impartial  jury  of  the  state  and  district  wherein  the  crime 
shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been 
previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the 
nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation  ;  to  be  contionted 
with  the  witnesses  against  him;  to  have  compulsory  pro- 


OF  THE   UNITED  STATES.  19 

cess  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor;  and  to  have  the 
assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defence. 

ART.  VII. — In  suits  of  common  law,  where  the  value 
in  controversy  shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of 
trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved;  and  no  fact,  tried  by  a 
j  iry,  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the 
United  States,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  com 
mon  law. 

ART.  VIII. — F-xcessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor 
excessive  fines  im^sed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punish 
ments  inflicted. 

ART.  IX. — The  enumeration  in  the  constitution,  of 
certain  rights,  shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage 
others  retained  by  the  people. 

ART.  X. — The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United 
States  by  the  constitution,  nor  prohibited  to  it  by  the 
states,  are  reserved  to  the  states  respectively,  or  to  the 
people. 

ART.  XI. — The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States 
shall  not  be  construed  to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or 
equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against  one  of  the 
United  Slates  by  citizens  of  another  state,  or  by  citizens 
or  subjects  of  any  foreign  state. 

ART.  XII. — 1.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respec 
tive  states,  and  vote  by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice- 
President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be  ati  inhabi 
tan t  of  the  same  state  with  themselves;  they  shall  name 
in  their  ballots  the  persons  voted  for  as  President,  and  in 
distinct  ballots  the  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President; 
and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for 
as  President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-Presi 
dent,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each ;  which  lists 
they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat 
of  government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the 
President  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the  Senate 
shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Re 
presentatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall 
then  be  counted ;  the  person  having  the  greatest  number 
of  votes  for  President,  shall  be  President,  if  such  number 
be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed; 
and  if  no  person  have  such  majority,  then  from  the  per- 


20  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

sons  having  the  highest  number,  not  exceeding  three  or* 
the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Re 
presentatives  shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  Pre 
sident. — But  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be 
taken  by  slates,  the  representation  from  each  state  having 
one  vote;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a 
member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  states,  and  a 
majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 
And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a 
President  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon 
them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following, 
-then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional  disability  of  the 
President. 

2.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as 
Yice-President,  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number 
be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed; 
and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  thetwohigh- 
est  numbers  on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice- 
President;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  Senators,  and  a  majority 
of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 

3.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office 
of  President,  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States. 

ART.  XIII. — If  any  citizen  of  the  United  States  shall 
accept,  claim,  receive,  or  retain  any  title  of  nobility  or 
honor,  or  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  accept 
or  retain  any  present,  pension,  office,  or  emolurneutof  any 
kind  whatever,  from  any  emperor,  king,  prince,  or  for 
eign  power,  such  person  shall  cease  to  be  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  shall  be  incapable  of  holding  any  office 
of  trust  or  profit  under  them,  or  either  of  them. 


21 


CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

•  • 

PART  I. 

A  Declaration  of  Rights  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Com 
monwealth  of  Massachusetts. 

Article  1.  All  men  are  born  free  and  equal,  and  have 
certain  natural,  essential,  and  unalienable  rights :  among 
which  mny  be  reckoned  the  right  of  enjoying  and  defend 
ing  their  lives  and  liberties  ;  that  of  acquiring,  possessing 
and  protecting  property  ;  in  fine,  that  of  seeking  and  ob 
taining  their  safety  and  happiness. 

2.  It  is  the  right,  as  well  as  the  duty,  of  all  men  in 
society,  publicly,  and  at  stated  seasons,  to  worship  the 
Supreme  Being,  the  Great  Creator  and  Preserver  of  the 
Universe.     And   no  subject  shall  be  hurt,  molested,  or 
restrained  in  his  person,  liberty,  or  estate,  for  worshipping 
God  in  the  manner  and  seasons  most  agreeable  to  the 
dictates  of  his  own  conscience  ;  or  for  his  religious  pro 
fession  or  sentiments  ;  provided  he  doth  not  disturb  the 
public  peace,  or  obstruct  others  in  their  religious  wor 
ship. 

3.  As  the  happiness  of  a  people,  and  the  good  order 
and  preservation  of  civil  government,  essentially  depend 
upon  piety,  religion,  and  morality;  and    as  these  cannot 
be  generally  diffused  throughout  the  community,  but  by 
the  institution  of  a  public  worship  of  God,  and  of  public 
institutions  in  piety,  religion,  and   morality  ;  therefore,  to 
promote  their  happiness,  and  to   secure  the    good  order 
and  preservation    of  their  government,  the  people  of  this 
commonwealth  have  a   right  to  invest  their  legislature 
with  power   to  authorize  and  require,  and  the  legislature 
shall,    from    time    to   time,    authorize  and    require,    the 
several  towns,  parishes,  precincts,  and  other  bodies  politic, 
or  religious  societies,  to  make  suitable  provision,  at  their 
own  expense,  for  the  institution  of  the  public  worship  of 
God,  and  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  public  protes- 
tant  teachers  of  piety,  religion,  and  morality  in  all  cases, 
where  such  provision  shall  not  be  made  voluntarily, 


£2  CONSTITUTION  OF    MASSACHUSETTS. 

All  the  people  of  the  commonwealth  have  also  a  right 
to,  and  do,  invest  their  legislature  with  authority  to  enjoin 
upon  alLthe  subjects  an  attendance  upon  the  instructions 
of  the  public  teachers,  as  aforesaid,  at  stated  times  and 
seasons,  if  their  be  any  one  whose  instructions  they  can 
conscientiously  and  conveniently  attend  : — 

Provided,  notwithstanding,  that  the  several  towns, 
parishes,  precincts,  and  other  bodies  politic,  or  religious 
societies,  shall,  at  all  times,  have  the  exclusive  right  of 
electing  their  public  teachers,  and  of  contracting  with 
them  for  their  support  and  maintenance. 

All  moneys  paid  by  the  subject  to  the  support  of  public 
worship,  and  of  the  public  teachers  aforesaid,  shall,  if  he  re 
quire  it,  be  uniformly  applied  to  the  support  of  the  public 
teacher  or  teachers  of  his  own  religious  sect  or  denomi 
nation,  provided  there  be  any,  on  whose  instruction  he 
attends;  otherwise  it  may  be  paid  towards  the  support  of 
the  teacher  or  teachers  of  the  parish  or  precinct  in  which 
the  said  moneys  are  raised. 

And  every  denomination  of  Christians,  demeaning 
themselves  peaceably,  and  as  good  subjects  of  the  com 
monwealth,  shall  be  equally  under  the  protection  of  the 
law  ;  and  no  subordination  of  any  sect  or  denomination 
to  another  shall  ever  be  established  by  law. 

4.  The  people  of  the  commonwealth  have  the  sole  and 
exclusive  right  of  governing  themselves,  as  a  free,  sove 
reign,  and  independent  State  :  and  do,  and  for  ever  here 
after  shall,  exercise  and  enjoy  every  power,  jurisdiction, 
and  right,  which  is  not,  or  may  not  hereafter  be  by  them 
expressly  delegated  to  the  United  States  of  America,  in 
congress  assembled. 

5.  All  power  residing  originally  in   the   people,   and 
being  derived  from  them,  the  several  magistrates  and  of 
ficers  of  government  vested  with  authority,  whether  legis 
lative,   executive,   or  judicial,   are   their  substitutes   and 
agents,  and  are  at  all  times  accountable  to  them. 

6.  No  man,  or  corporation,  or  association  of  men,  have 
any  other  title  to  obtain  advantages,  or  particular  and  ex 
clusive  privileges,  distinct  from  those  of  the  community, 
than  what  arises  from  the  consideration  of  services  ren 
dered  to  the  public.     And   this   title   being,  in   nature, 


CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  23 

neither  hereditary  nor  transmissible  to  children  or  de 
scendants,  or  relations  of  blood,  the  idea  of  a  man  born  a 
magistrate,  lawgiver,  or  judge,  is  absurd  and  unnatural. 

7.  Government  is  instituted  for  the  common  good  :  for 
the  protection,  safety,  prosperity  and  happiness  of  the 
people  :   and  not  for  the  profit,  honor,  or  private  interest 
of  any  one  man,  family,  or  any  one  class  of  men.   There 
fore,  the  people  alone  have  an  incontestable,  unalienable, 
and  indefeasible  right  to  institute  government,  and  to  re 
form,  alter,  or  totally  change  the  same,  when  their  pro 
tection,  safety,  prosperity  and  happiness  require  it. 

8.  In  order  to  prevent  those  who  are  vested  with  autho 
rity  from  becoming  oppressors,  the  people  have   a  right, 
at  such  periods  and  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  establish 
by  the  frame  of  Government,  to  cause  their  public  officers 
to  return  to  private  life,  and  to   fill  up   vacant  places  by 
certain  and  regular  elections  and  appointments. 

9.  All  elections  ought  to  be  free  :  and  all  the  inhabi 
tants  of  this   commonwealth,   having  such  qualifications 
as  they  shall  establish  by   their  frame   of  Government, 
have  an  equal  right  to  elect  officers,  and  to  be  elected  for 
public  employments. 

10.  Each  individual  of  the   society  has  a  right  to   be 
protecte'd  by  it,  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  life,  liberty,  and 
property,  according  to  the  standing  laws.     He  is  obliged, 
consequently,  to  contribute  his  share  to  the  expense  of 
this  protection ;  to  give  his  personal  service,   or  an  equi 
valent,  when  necessary.     But  no  part  of  the  property  of 
any  individual  can,  with  justice,  be  taken  from   him,  or 
applied  to  the  public  use,  without   his  own  consent,   or 
that  of  the  representative  body  of  the  people.     In  fine, 
the  people  of  this  commonwealth  are  not  controllable  by 
any  other  laws  than  those  to  which  their  constitutional 
representative    body     have    given    their   consent.     And 
whenever  the  public  exigencies  require  that  the  property 
of  any  individual  should  be  appropriated  to  public  uses, 
he.  shall  receive  a  reasonable  compensation  therefor. 

11.  Every  subject  of  the  commonwealth  ought  to  find 
a  certain  remedy,  by  having  recourse  to  the  laws,  for  all 
injuries  or  wrongs  which  he  may  receive,  in  his  person, 
property,  or  character.     He  ought  to  obtain  right  and 


24  CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

justice  freely,  and  without  being  obliged  to  purchase  it — 
completely,  and  without  any  denial — promptly,  and  with 
out  delay — conformably  to  the  laws. 

12.  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  any  crime 
or  offence,  until  the  same  is  fully  and  plainly,  substantial 
ly  and  formally,  described  to  him  ;  or  be  compelled  to 
accuse  or  furnish  evidence  against  himself.     And  every 
person  shall  have  a  right  to  produce  all  proofs  that  may 
be  favorable  to  him  ;  to  meet  the  witnesses  against  him, 
face  to  face,  and  be  fully  heard  in  his  defence,  by  himself,  or 
his  counsel,  at  his  election.  And  no  person  shall  be  arrested, 
imprisoned,  or  despoiled  or  deprived  of  his  property,  im 
munities,   or  privileges,   put  out  of  the  protection  of  the 
law,  exiled,  or  deprived  of  his  life,  liberty,  or  estate,  but 
by  the  judgment  of  his  peers,  or  the  law  of  the  land. 

And  the  legislature  shall  not  make  any  law  that  shall 
subject  any  person  to  a  capital  or  infamous  punishment 
(excepting  for  the  Government  of  the  army  and  navy) 
without  trial  by  jury. 

13.  In  criminal  prosecutions  the  verifications  of  facts, 
in  the  vicinity  where  they  happen,  is  one  of  the  greatest 
securities  of  the  life,  liberty,  and  property  of  the  citi 
zen. 

14.  Every  person  has  a  right  to  be  secure  from  all 
unreasonable  searches    and   seizures  of  his  person,  his 
house,  his  papers,  and  all  his  possessions.     All  warrants, 
therefore,  are  contrary  to  this  right,  if  the  cause  or  foun 
dation  of  them  be  not  previously  supported  by  oath  or 
affirmation  ;  and  if  the  order,  in  a  warrant  to  a  civil  offi 
cer,  to  make  search  in  all  suspected  places,  or  to  arrest 
one  or  more  suspected  persons,  or  to  seize  their  property, 
be  not  accompanied  with  a  special  designation  of  the  per 
sons,   or  objects  of  search,  arrest,   or  seizure.     And  no 
warrant  ought  to  be   issued  but  in  such  cases,  and  with 
the  formalities  prescribed  by  the  laws. 

15.  In  all  controversies  concerning  property,  and  in  all 
suits  between  two  or  more  persons,  (except  in  cases  in 
which  it  has  heretofore  been  otherwise  used  and  prac 
tised,)  the  parties  have  a  right  to  a  trial  by  jury  ;  and  this 
method  of  procedure   shall  be  held  sacred, — unless,   in 
cases  arising  on  the  high  seas,  and  such  as  relate  to  ma- 


CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  25 

riner's  wages,  the  legislature  shall  hereafter  find  it  neces 
sary  to  alter  it. 

16.  The  liberty  of  the  press  is  essential  to  security  of 
freedom  in  a  state  ;  it  ought  not,  therefore,  to  be  restrain 
ed  in  this  commonwealth. 

17.  The  people  have  a  right  to  keep  and  to  bear  arms 
for  the  common  defence.     And  as,   in   time   of  peace, 
armies  are  dangerous   to  liberty,  they  ought  not  to  be 
maintained,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislature  :  and 
the  military  power  shall  always  be  held  in  exact  subordi 
nation  to  the  civil  authority,  and  be  governed  by  it. 

18.  A  frequent  recurrence  to  the  fundamental  princi 
ples  of  the  Constitution,  and  a  constant  adherence  to  those 
of  piety,  justice,  moderation,  temperance,  industry,  and 
frugality,  are  absolutely  necessary  to  preserve  the  advan 
tages  of  liberty,  and  to  maintain  a  free  government.     The 
people  ought,  consequently,  to  have  a  particular  attention 
to  all  those  principles,  in  the  choice  of  their  officers  and 
representatives,  and  they  have  a  right  to  require  of  their 
lawgivers,  and  magistrates,  an  exact  and  constant  obser 
vance  of  them,  in  the  formation  and  execution  of  all  laws 
necessary  for  the  good  administration  of  the  common 
wealth. 

19.  The  people  have  a  right,  in  an  orderly  and  peace 
able  manner,  to  assemble  upon  the  common  good,  give 
instruction  to  their  representatives  ;  and  to  request  of  the 
legislative  body,  by  the  way  of  addresses,   petitions,    or 
remonstrances,  redress  of  the  wrongs  clone  them,  and  of 
the  grievances  they  suffer. 

20.  The  power  of  suspending  the  laws,  or  the  execu 
tion  of  the  laws,  ought  never  to  be  exercised  but  by  the 
legislature  ;  or  by   authority   derived  from  it,  to  be  exer 
cised  in  such  particular  cases  only  as  the  legislature  shall 
expressly  provide  for. 

21.  The  freedom  of  deliberation,  speech,  and  debate, 
in  either  house  of  the  legislature,  is  so  essential  to  the 
rights  of  the  people,  that  it  cannot  be  the  foundation  of 
any  accusation  or  prosecution,  action  or  complaint,  in  any 
other  court  or  place  whatsoever. 

22.  The  legislature  ought  frequently  to  assemble,  for 
the  redress  of  grievances,  for  correcting,  strengthening, 


26  CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

and  confirming  the  laws,  and  for  making  new  laws,  as 
the  common  good  may  require. 

23.  No  subsidy,  charge,  tax,  impost,  or  duties,  ought 
to  be  established,  fixed.,  laid,  or  levied,  under  any  pretext 
whatever,  without  the  consent  of  the  people,  or  their  re 
presentatives  in  the  legislature. 

24.  Laws  made  to  punish  for  actions  done  before  the 
existence  of  such  laws,  and  which  have  not  been  declared 
crimes  by  preceding  laws,  are  unjust,  oppressive,  and  in 
consistent  with  the  fundamental  principles  of  a  free  govern 
ment. 

25.  No  person  ought,  in  any  case,  or  in  any  time,  to 
be  declared  guilty  of  treason  or  felony  by  the  legislature. 

26.  No  magistrate,  or  court  of  law,  shall  demand  ex 
cessive  bail  or  sureties,  impose  excessive  fines,  or  inflict 
cruel  or  unusual  punishments. 

27.  In  time  of  peace,  no  soldier  ought  to  be  quartered 
in  any  house,  without  the  consent  of  the  owner;  and  in 
time  of  war,  such  quarters  ought  not  to  be  made,  but  by 
the  civil  magistrates,  in  manner  ordained  by  the  legislature. 

28.  No  person  can,  in   any  case,  be  subjected  to  law 
martial,   or  to  any  penalties  or  pains  by   virtue   of  that 
law,  (except  those  employed  in  the  army  or  navy,  and 
except  the  militia  in  actual  service,)  but  by  the  authority 
of  the  legislature. 

29.  It  is  essential  to  the  preservation  of  the  rights  of 
every  individual,  his  life,    liberty,  property,  and  charac 
ter,  that  there  be  an  impartial  interpretation  of  the  laws, 
and  administration  of  justice.     It  is  the  right  of  every  citi 
zen  to  be  tried  by  judges  as  free,  impartial,  and  indepen 
dent,  as  the  lot  of  humanity  will  admit.     It  is,  therefore, 
not  only  the  best  policy,  but  for  the  security  of  the  rights 
of  the  people,  and  of  every  citizen,  that  the  judges  of  the 
supreme  judicial  court  should  hold  their  offices  as  long 
as  they  behave  themselves  well  ;  and  that  they  should 
have  honorable  salaries,  ascertained  and  established  by 
standing  laws. 

30.  In  the  government  of  this  commonwealth,  the  le 
gislative  department  shall  never  exercise  the  executive 
and  judicial  powers,   or  either  of  them  ;  the  executive 
shall  never  exercise  the  legislative  and  judicial  powers, 


CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  '27 

or  either  of  them;  the  judicial  shall  never  exercise  the 
legislative  and  executive  powers,  or  either  of  them  :  to 
the  end  that  rt  may  be  a  government  of  laws,  and  not  of  men. 

PART  II. 

Frame  of  Government. 

The  people  inhabiting  the  territory  formerly  called  the 
province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  do  hereby  solemnly  and 
mutually  agree  with  each  other  to  form  themselves  into  a 
free,  sovereign,  and  independent  body  politic,  or  state,  by 
the  name  of — The  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 

CHAPTER  I. 

SECTION  1. — THE  LEGISLATIVE  POWER. 
T7ie  General  Court. 

Article  1.  The  department  of  legislation  shall  be  form 
ed  by  two  branches,  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  : 
each  of  which  shall  have  a  negative  on  the  other. 

The  legislative  body  shall  assemble  every  year,  on  the 
last  Wednesday  of  May,  and  at  such  other  times  as  they 
shall  judge  necessary  ;  and  shall  dissolve  and  be  dissolved 
on  the  day  next  preceding  the  last  Wednesday  in  May  ; 
and  shall  be  styled,  The  General  Court  of  Massachusetts. 

2.  No  bill  or  resolve  of  the  Senate  or  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  shall  become  a  law,  and  have  force  as  such,  un 
til  it  shall  have  been  laid  before  the  Governor  for  his  re- 
visal;  and  if  he,  upon  such  revision,  approve  thereof,  he 
shall  signify  his  approbation  by  signing  the  same.  But, 
if  he  have  any  objection  to  the  passing  of  such  bill  or  re 
solve,  he  shall  return  the  same,  together  with  his  objec 
tions  thereto,  in  writing,  to  the  Senate  or  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  in  whichsoever  the  same  shall  have  originated  ; 
who  shall  enter  the  objections  sent  down  by  the  Governor, 
at  large,  on  their  records,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  the 
said  bill  or  resolve ;  but  if,  after  such  reconsideration, 
two-thirds  of  the  said  Senate  or  House  of  Representatives 


28  CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHL  SETTS. 

shall,  notwithstanding  the  said  objections,  agree  to  pass 
the  same,  it  shall,  together  with  the  objections,  be  sent 
to  the  other  branch  of  the  legislature,  where  it  shall  also 
be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved  by  two-thirds  of  the  mem 
bers  present,  it  shall  have  the  force  of  a  law  ;  but  in  all 
such  cases  the  votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined 
by  yeas  and  nays  :  and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting 
for  or  against  the  said  bill  or  resolve,  shall  be  entered 
upon  the  public  records  of  the  commonwealth. 

And,  in  order  to  prevent  unnecessary  delays,  if  any  bill 
or  resolve  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  Governor  within 
five  days  after  it  shall  have  been  presented,  the  same  shall 
have  the  force  of  a  law. 

3.  The  general  court  shall  for  ever  have  full  power 
and   authority  to   erect  and  constitute  judicatories,   and 
courts  of  record,  or  other  courts,  to  be  held   in  the  name 
of  the  commonwealth,  for  the  hearing,   trying,  and  de 
termining  of  all  manner  of  crimes,  offences,  pleas,  pro 
cesses,  plaints,  actions,  matters,  causes,  and  things  what 
soever,  arising  or  happening  within  the   commonwealth, 
or  between  or  concerning  persons  inhabiting,  or  residing, 
or  brought  within  the  same  ;  whether  the  same  be  crimi 
nal  or  civil ;  or  whether  the  said  crimes  be  capital  or  not 
capital,  or  whether  the  said   pleas  be  real,  personal,  or 
mixed  ;  and  for  the  awarding  and  making  out  of  execution 
thereupon;  to  which^  courts  and  judicatories  are  hereby 
given  and  granted  full  power  and  authority,  from  time  to 
time,  to  administer  oaths  or  affirmations,  for  the  better 
discovery  of  truth  in  any  matter  in  controversy  or  depend 
ing  before  them. 

4.  And  further,  full  power  and  authority  are  hereby 
given  and  granted  to  the  said  general  court,  from  time  to 
time,  to  make,  ordain  and  establish  all  manner  of  whole 
some  and  reasonable  orders,  laws,   statutes,  ordinances, 
directions,     and    instructions,    either    with    penalties    or 
without  (so  as  the  same  be  not  repugnant  or  contrary 
to  this  Constitution,)  as  they  shall  judge  to  be  for  the  good 
and  welfare  of  this  commonwealth,    and   for  the  govern 
ment  and  ordering  thereof,  and  of  the  citizens  of  the  same, 
and  for  the  necessary  support  and  defence  of  the  govern 
ment  thereof;  and  to  name  and  settle  annually,  or  pro- 


CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  29 

vide  by  fixed  laws  for  the  naming  and  settling  all  civil 
officers,  within  the  said  commonwealth,  the  election  and 
constitution  of  whom  are  not  hereafter,  in  this  form  of 
government,  otherwise  provided  for:  and  to  set  forth  the 
several  duties,  powers,  and  limits  of  the  several  civil  and 
military  officers  of  this  commonwealth,  and  the  forms  of 
such  oaths  or  affirmations  shall  be  respectively  adminis 
tered  unto  them  for  the  execution  of  their  several  offices 
and  places,  so  as  the  same  be  not  repugnant  or  contrary 
to  this  Constitution ;  and  to  impose  and  levy  proportion 
able  and  reasonable  assessments,  rates,  and  taxes  upon  all 
the  inhabitants  of,  and  persons  resident,  and  estates  lying 
within  the  said  commonwealth;  and  also  to  impose  and 
levy  reasonable  duties  and  excises  upon  any  produce, 
goods,  wares,  merchandises,  and  commodities  whatso 
ever,  brought  into,  produced,  manufactured,  or  being 
within  the  same ;  to  be  issued  and  disposed  of  by  warrant 
under  the  hand  of  the  Governor  of  this  commonwealth 
for  the  time  being,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
council,  for  the  public  service,  in  the  necessary  defence 
and  support  of  the  government  of  the  said  commonwealth, 
and  the  protection  and  preservation  of  the  citizens  thereof, 
according  to  such  acts  as  are  or  shall  be  in  force  within 
the  same. 

And  while  the  public  charges  of  government,  or  any 
part  thereof,  shall  be  assessed  on  polls  and  estates  in  the 
manner  that  has  hitherto  been  practised  ;  in  order  that  such 
assessments  may  be  made  with  equality,  there  shall  be  a 
valuation  of  estates  within  the  commonwealth  taken  anew 
once  in  every  ten  years,  at  the  least,  and  as  much  oftener 
as  the  general  court  shall  order. 

CHAPTER  1. 

SECTION  2. — Senate. 

Article  1  There  shall  be  annually  elected  by  the  free 
holders  and  other  inhabitants  of  this  commonwealth, 
qualified  as  in  this  Constitution  is  provided,  forty  persons 
to  bo  counsellors  and  senators  for  the  year  ensuing  their 
election  ;  to  be  chosen  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  districts 
3* 


30  CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

into  which  the  commonwealth  may  from  time  to  time  be 
divided  by  the  general  court  for  that  purpose.  And  the 
general  court,  in  assigning  the  numbers  to  be  elected  by 
the  representative  districts,  shall  govern  themselves  by 
the  proportion  of  the  public  taxes  paid  by  the  said  dis 
tricts  ;  and  timely  make  known  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
commonwealth,  the  limits  of  each  district,  and  the  num 
bers  of  counsellors  and  senators  to  be  chosen  therein : 
provided  that  the  number  of  such  districts  shall  be  never 
less  than  thirteen ;  and  that  no  district  be  so  large  as  to 
entitle  the  same  to  choose  more  than  six  senators. 

And  the  several  counties  in  this  commonwealth  shall, 
until  the  general  court  shall  determine  it  necessary  to  alter 
the  said  districts,  be  districts  for  choice  of  counsellors  and 
senators,  (except  that  the  counties  of  Dukes  county  and 
Nantucket  shall  form  one  district  for  that  purpose, )and  shall 
elect  the  following  number  for  counsellors  and  senators,  viz.: 


Suffolk six 

Essex     six 

Middlesex    ....  five 
Hampshire  ....  four 

Plymouth three 

Barnstable    ....  one 
Bristol    .  .  three 


York two 

Dukes  county  and 


Nantucket          5 


one 


Worcester five 

Cumberland    ....  one 

Lincoln one 

Berkshire    ,  .  two 


2.  The  Senate  shall  be  the  first  branch  of  the  legisla 
ture  :  and  the  senators  shall  be  chosen  in  the  following 
manner,  viz  :  There  shall  be  a  meeting  on  the  first  Mon 
day  in  April,  annually  forever,  of  the  inhabitants  of  each 
town  in  the  several  counties  of  this  commonwealth;  to 
be  called  by  the  selectmen,  and  warned  in  due  course  of 
law,  at  least  seven  days  before  the  first  Monday  in  April, 
for  the  purpose  of  electing  persons  to  be  senators  and 
counsellors.  And  at  such  meetings  every  male  inhabitant, 
of  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  upwards,  having  a  free 
hold  estate  within  the  commonwealth  of  the  annual  in 
come  of  three  pounds,  or  any  estate  of  the  value  of  sixty 
pounds,  shall  have  a  right  to  give  in  his  vote  for  the  sen 
ators  for  the  district  of  which  he  is  an  inhabitant.  And  to 
remove  all  doubts  concerning  the  word  »*  inhabitant"  in 


CONSTITUTION  OF   MASSACHUSETTS.  31 

this  Constitution,  every  person  shall  be  considered  as  an 
inhabitant  (for  the  purpose  of  electing  and  being  elected 
into  any  office  or  place  within  this  state)  in  that  town, 
district,  orplantation,  where  hedwelleth  or  hath  his  home. 

The  selectmen  of  the  several  towns  shall  preside  at  such 
meetings  impartially  ;  and  shall  receive  the  votes  of  all  the 
inhabitants  of  such  towns,  present  and  qualified  to  vote  for 
senators ;  and  shall  sort  and  count  them  in  open  town  meet 
ing,  and  in  presence  of  the  town  clerk,  who  shall  make  a  fail 
record,  in  presence  of  the  selectmen,  and  in  open  town 
meeting,  of  the  name  of  every  person  voted  for,  and  of  the 
number  of  votes  against  his  name  ;  and  a  fair  copy  of  this 
record  shall  be  attested  by  the  selectmen  and  the  town 
clerk,  and  shall  be  sealed  up,  directed  to  the  secretary  of 
the  commonwealth  for  the  time  being,  with  a  superscrip 
tion,  expressing  the  purports  of  the  contents  thereof,  and 
delivered  by  the  town  clerk  of  such  town  to  the  sheriff 
of  the  county  in  which  such  town  lies,  thirty  days  at 
least  before  the  last  Wednesday  in  May,  annually  ;  or  it 
shall  be  delivered  into  the  secretary's  office  seventeen 
days  at  least  before  the  said  last  Wednesday  in  May  ; 
and  the  sheriff  of  each  county  shall  deliver  all  such  certi 
ficates  by  him  received  into  the  secretary's  office,  seven 
teen  days  before  the  said  last  Wednesday  in  May. 

And  the  inhabitants  of  plantations  unincorporated, 
(qualified  as  this  Constitution  provides,)  who  are  or  shall 
be  empowered  and  required  to  assess  taxes  upon  them 
selves,  toward  the  support  of  government,  shall  have  the 
same  privilege  of  voting  for  counsellors  and  senators  in 
the  plantations  where  they  reside,  as  town  inhabitants 
have  in  their  respective  towns;  and  the  plantation  meet 
ings  for  that  purpose  shall  be  held  annually  on  the  same 
first  Monday  in  April,  at  such  place  in  the  plantations  re 
spectively  as  the  assessors  thereof  shall  direct ;  which  as 
sessors  shall  have  like  authority  for  notifying  the  electors, 
collecting  and  returning  the  votes,  as  the  selectmen  and 
town  clerks  have  in  their  several  towns,  by  this  Constitu 
tion  ;  and  all  other  persons,  living  in  places  unincorpora 
ted,  (qualified  as  aforesaid,)  who  shall  be  assessed  to  the 
support  of  government  by  the  assessors  of  an  adjacent 
town,  shall  have  the  privilege  of  giving  in  their  votes  for 


32  CONSTITUTION  OF   MASSACHUSETTS. 

counsellors  and  senators  in  the  town  where  they  shall  be 
assessed,  and  be  notified  of  the  place  of  meeting,  by  the 
selectmen  of  the  town  where  they  shall  be  assessed,  for 
that  purpose,  accordingly. 

3.  And  that  there  may  be  a  due  convention  of  senators 
on  the  last  Wednesday  in  May  annually,  the  Governor 
and  five  of  the  council,  for  the  time  being,  shall,  as  soon 
as  may  be,  examine  the  returned  copies  of  such  records  ; 
and,  fourteen  days  before  the  said  day,  he  shall  issue  his 
summons  to  such  persons  as  shall  appear  to  be  chosen  by 
the  majority  of  votes,  to  attend  on  that  day  and  take  their 
seats    accordingly  :  provided,  nevertheless,  that,  for  the 
first  year,  the  said  returned  copies  shall  be  examined  by 
the  president  and  five  of  the  council  of  the  former  Consti 
tution  of  government :  and  the  said  president  shall,  in  like 
manner,  issue  his  summons  to  the  persons  so  elected,  that 
they  may  take  their  seats  as  aforesaid. 

4.  The  Senate  shall  be  the  final  judge  of  the  elections, 
returns,    and   qualifications    of  their   own   members,  as 
pointed  out  in  the  Constitution;  and  shall,  on  the  said 
last  Wednesday  in  May,  annually,  determine  and  declare 
who  are  elected  by  each  district,  to  be  senators,  by  a  ma 
jority  of  votes  :  and  in  case  there  shall  not  appear  to  be 
the  full  number  of  senators  returned,  elected  by  a  majori 
ty  of  votes  for  any  district,  the  deficiency  shall  be  sup 
plied  in  the  following  manner,  viz. :  The  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  such  senators  as  shall  be  de 
clared  elected,  shall  take  the  names  of  such  persons  as 
shall  be  found  to  have  the  highest  number  of  votes  in  such 
district,  and  not  elected,  amounting  to  twice  the  number 
of  senators  wanting,  if  there  be  so  many  voted  for;  and 
out  of  these  shall  elect,  by  ballot,  a  number  of  senators 
sufficient  to  fill  up  the  vacancies  in  such  district ;  and  in 
this  manner  all  such  vacancies  shall  be  filled  in  every  dis 
trict  of  the  commonwealth:  and,  in  like  manner,  all  va 
cancies  in  the  Senate,  arising  by  death,  removal  out  of 
the  state,  or  otherwise,  shall  be  supplied  as  soon  as  may 
be  after  such  vacancies  shall  happen  : — 

5.  Provided,  nevertheless,  that  no  person  shall  be  ca 
pable  of  being  elected  a  senator,  who  is  not  seized  in  his 
own  right  of  a  freehold  within  this  commonwealth  of  the 


CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  33 

value  of  three  hundred  pounds  at  least,  or  possessed  of  per  • 
sonal  estate  to  the  value  of  six  hundred  pounds  at  least, 
or  of  both  to  the  amount  of  the  same  sum  ;  and  who  has 
not  been  an  inhabitant  of  this  common  wealth  for  the  space 
of  five  years  immediately  preceding  his  election  ;  and  at 
the  time  of  his  election  he  shall  be  an  inhabitant  in  the 
district  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  power  to  adjourn  themselves, 
provided  such  adjournments  do  not  exceed  two  days  at  a 
time. 

7.  The  Senate  shall  choose  its  own  president,  appoint 
its  own  officers,  and  determine  its  own  rules  of  proceedings. 

8.  The  Senate  shall  be  a  court  with  full  authority  to 
hear  and  determine  all  impeachments  made  by  the  House 
of  Representatives,  against  any  officer  or  officers  of  the 
commonwealth,  for  misconduct,  and  maladministration  in 
their  offices.     But,  previous  to  the  trial  of  every  impeach 
ment,  the  members   of  the  Senate  shall  respectively  be 
sworn,   truly  and  impartially  to  try   and  determine   the 
charge  in  question,  according  to  evidence.  Their  judgment, 
however,  shall  not  extend  further  than  to  removal  from 
office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  or  enjoy  any  place  of 
honor,  trust,  or  profit,  under  this  commonwealth  :  but  the 
party  so  convicted  shall  be,  nevertheless,  liable   to  im 
peachment,  trial,  judgment,  and  punishment,  according  to 
the  laws  of  the  land. 

9.  Not  less  than  sixteen  members  of  the  Senate  shall 
constitute  a  quorum  for  doing  business. 

CHAPTER  I. 

SECTION  3. — House  of  Representatives. 

Article  1.  There  shall  be,  in  the  legislature  of  this 
commonwealth,  a  representation  of  the  people,  annually 
elected,  and  founded  upon  the  principle  of  equality. 

2.  And  in  order  to  provide  for  a  representation  of  the 
citizens  of  this  commonwealth,  founded  on  the  principles 
of  equality,  every  corporate  town  containing  one  hundred 
and  fifty  ratable  polls  may  elect  one  representative  ;  eve 
ry  corporate  town  containing  three  hundred  and  seventy- 


34  CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

five  ratable  polls  may  elect  two  representatives  :  every 
corporate  town  containing  six  hundred  ratable  polls,  may- 
elect  three  representatives  ;  and  proceeding  in  that  man 
ner,  making  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  ratable  polls 
the  mean  increasing  number  for  every  additional  repre 
sentative  : 

Provided,  nevertheless,  that  each  town  now  incorpora 
ted,  not  having  one  hundred  and  fifty  ratable  polls,  may 
elect  one  representative.  But  no  place  shall  hereafter  be 
incorporated  with  the  privilege  of  electing  a  representa 
tive,  unless  there  are,  within  the  same,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  ratable  polls. 

And  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  have  power, 
from  time  to  time,  to  impose  fines  upon  such  towns  as 
shall  neglect  to  choose  and  return  members  to  the  same, 
agreeably  to  this  Constitution. 

The  expenses  of  travelling  to  the  general  assembly, 
and  returning  home,  once  in  every  session,  and  no  more, 
shall  be  paid  by  the  government,  out  of  the  public  trea 
sury,  to  every  member  who  shall  attend  as  seasonably  as 
he  can,  in  the  judgment  of  the  House,  and  does  not  de 
part  without  leave. 

3.  Every  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
be  chosen  by  written  votes  ;  and  for  one  year  at  least  next 
preceding  his  election  shall  have  been  an  inhabitant  of, 
and  have  been  seized  in  his   own   right  of  a  freehold  of 
the  value  of  one  hundred  pounds  within  the  town  he  shall 
be  chosen  to  represent,  or  any  ratable  estate,  to  the  value 
of  two  hundred  pounds  ;  and  he  shall  cease  to  represent 
the  said  town  immediately  on  his  ceasing  to  be  qualified 
as  aforesaid. 

4.  Every  male  person  (being  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
and  resident  of  any  particular  town  in  this  commonwealth, 
for  the  space  of  one  year  next  preceding)   having  a  free 
hold  estate  within  the  same  town,  of  the  annual  income  of 
three  pounds,  or  any  estate  of  the  value  of  sixty  pounds, 
shall  have  a  right  to  vote  in  the  choice  of  a  representa 
tive,  or  representatives  for  the  said  town. 

5.  The  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
be  chosen  annually,  in  the  month  of  May,  ten  days,  at 
least,  before  the  last  Wednesday  of  that  month. 


CONSTITUTION  OF   MASSACHUSETTS.  35 

6.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  the  grand  in 
quest   of  this    commonwealth  ;    and    all  impeachments, 
made  by  them,  shall  be  heard  and  tried  by  the  Senate. 

7.  All  money  bills  shall  originate  in  the   House  of  Re 
presentatives  :  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with 
amendments  as  on  other  bills. 

8.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  have  power  to 
adjourn  themselves  ;  provided  such  adjournment  shall  not 
exceed  two  days  at  a  time. 

9.  Not  less  than  sixty  members  of  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  doing  business. 

10.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  the  judge  of 
the  returns,  elections,  and  qualifications  of  its  own  mem 
bers,  as  pointed  out  in  the  constitution  ;  shall  choose  their 
own  speaker;  appoint  their  own  officers,  and  settle  their 
rules  and  orders  of  proceeding  in  their  own  house.  They 
shall  have  authority  to  punish,  by  imprisonment,  every 
person  (not  a  member) who  shall  be  guilty  of  disrespect 
to  the  House,  by  any  disorderly  or  contemptuous  beha 
vior  in  its  presence ;  or  who,  in  the  town  where  the  gen 
eral  court  is  sitting,  shall  threaten  harm   to  the  body  or 
estate  of  any  of  its  members,  for  anything  said  or  done  in 
the  House;  or  who  shall  assault  any  of  them  therefor; 
or  who  shall  assault  or  arrest  any  witness  or  otherperson, 
ordered  to  attend  the   House   in  his  way  in  going  or  re 
turning  ;  or  who  shall  rescue  any  person  arrested  by  the 
order  of  the  House. 

And  no  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
be  arrested  or  held  to  bail  on  mesne  process,  during  his 
going  into,  returning  from,  or  his  attending  the  general  as 
sembly 

11.  The  Senate  have  the    same  powers  in   the   like 
cases  ;  and  the  Governor  and  Council  shall  have  the  same 
authority  to  punish  in  like  case.s  :  provided,  that  no  im 
prisonment,  on  the   warrant  or  order  of  the   Governc.r, 
Council,  Senate,  or  House  of  Representatives,  for  either 
of  the  above  described  offences,  be  for  a  term  exceeding 
thirty  days. 

And  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  try 
and  determine  all  cases  where  their  rights  and  privileges 


36  CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

are  concerned,  and  which,  by  the  Constitution,  they  have 
authority  to  try  and  determine,  by  committees  of  their 
own  members,  or  in  such  other  way  as  they  may  respec 
tively  think  best. 

CHAPTER    II. 

SECTION  1. — EXECUTIVE  POWER. 
Governor. 

Article  1.  There  shall  be  a  supreme  executive  magis 
trate,  who  shall  be  styled  the  Governor  of  the  Common 
wealth  of  Massachusetts ;  and  whose  title  shall  be,  His 
Excellency. 

2.  The  Governor  shall  be  chosen  annually:  and  no  per 
son  shall  be  eligible  to  this  office,  unless  at  the  time  of 
his  election  he  shall  have  been  an  inhabitant  of  this  com 
monwealth  for  seven  years  next  preceding;   and  unless 
he  shall,  at  the  same  time,  be  seized,  in  his  own  right, 
of  a  freehold  within  the  commonwealth  of  the  value  of 
one  thousand   pounds  ;  and  unless  he  shall  declare  him 
self  to  be  of  the  Christian  religion. 

3.  Those  persons  who  shall  be  qualified  to  vote  for 
senators  and  representatives,  within  the  several  towns  of 
this  commonwealth,  shall,  at  a  meeting  to  be  called  for 
that  purpose,  on  the  first  Monday  of  April,  annually,  give 
in  their  votes  for  a  Governor  to  the  selectmen,  who  shall 
preside  at  such  meetings ;  and  the  town  clerk,  in  the  pre 
sence,  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  selectmen,  shall,  in 
open  town  meeting,  sort  and  count  the  votes,  and  form  a 
list  of  the  persons  voted  for,  with  the  number  of  votes  for 
each  person,  against  his  name:   and  shall  make  a  fair 
record  of  the  same  in  the  town  books,  and  a  public  decla 
ration  thereof  in  the  said  meeting;  and  shall,  in  the  pre 
sence  of  the  inhabitants,  seal  up  copies  of  the  said  lists, 
attested  by  him  and  the  selectmen,  and  transmit  the  same 
to  the  sheriff  of  the  county,  thirty  days  at  least  before  the 
last  Wednesday  in  May :   and  the  sheriff  shall  transmit 
the  same  to  the  secretary's  office  seventeen  days  at  least 
before  the  said  last  Wednesday  in  May ;  or  the  selectmen 


CONSTITUTION  OF   MASSACHUSETTS.  37 

may  cause  returns  of  the  same  to  be  made  to  the  office 
of  the  secretary  of  the  commonwealth,  seventeen  days 
at  least  before  the  said  day ;  and  the  secretary  shall 
lay  the  same  before  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  on  the  last  Wednesday  in  May,  to  be  by  them 
examined:  and  in  case  of  an  election  by  a  majority  of  all 
the  votes  returned,  the  choice  shall  be  by  them  declared 
and  published.  But  if  no  person  shall  have  a  majority 
of  votes,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall,  by  ballot, 
elect  two  out  of  four  persons,  who  had  the  highest  num 
ber  of  votes,  if  so  many  shall  have  been  voted  for:  but, 
if  otherwise,  out  of  the  number  voted  for;  and  make  return 
to  the  Senate  of  the  persons  so  elected;  on  which  the 
Senate  shall,  by  ballot,  elect  one  who  shall  be  declared 
Governor. 

4.  The   Governor  shall  have  authority  from  time  to 
time,  at  his  discretion,  to  assemble  and  call  together  the 
counsellors   of  this  commonwealth  for  the  time  being; 
and  the  Governor,  with  the  said  counsellors,  or  five  of 
them  at  least,  shall,  and  may  from  time  to  time,  hold  and 
keep  a  council,  for  the  ordering  and  directing  the  affairs 
of  the  commonwealth,  agreeably  to  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  the  land. 

5.  The  Governor,  with  the   advice  of  council,   shall 
have  full  power  and  authority,  during  the  session  of  the 
general  court,  to  adjourn  or  prorogue   the  same,  to  any 
time  the  two  Houses  shall  desire ;  and  to  dissolve  the  same 
on  the  day  next  preceding  the  last  Wednesday  in  May, 
and  in  the  recess  of  the  said  court  to  prorogue  ihe  same, 
from  time  to  time,  not  exceeding  ninety  days  in  any  one 
recess  :  and  to  call  it  together  sooner  than  the  time   to 
which  it  may  be  adjourned  or  prorogued,  if  the  welfare 
of  the  commonwealth  shall  require  the  same.     And  in 
case  of  any  infectious  distemper  prevailing  in  the  place 
where  the  said  court  is  next,  at  any  time,  to  convene,  or 
any  cause  happening,  whereby  danger  may  arise  to  the 
health  or  lives  of  the  members  from  their  attendance,  he 
may  direct  the  session  to  be  held  at  some  other  of  the 
most  convenient  places  within  the  State. 

And  the  Governor  shall  dissolve  the  said  general  court 
on  the  day  next  preceding  the  last  Wednesday  in  May 


38  CONSTITUTION  OF    MASSACHUSETTS. 

6.  In  cases  of  disagreement  between  the  two  Houses 
with  regard  to  the  necessity,  expediency,  or  time  of  ad 
journment,  or  prorogation,  the  Governor,  with  advice  of 
the  council,  shall  have  a  right  to  adjourn  or  prorogue  the 
general  court,  not  exceeding  ninety  days,  as  he  shall  de 
termine,  and  the  public  good  shall  require. 

7.  The  Governor  of  this  commonwealth,  for  the  time 
being,  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy, 
and  of  all  the  military  forces  of  the   State,  by  sea  and 
land  ;   and  shall  have  full  power,  by  himself,  or  by  any 
commander,  or  other  officer  or  officers,  from  time  to  time, 
to  train,  instruct,  exercise,  and   govern   the  militia  and 
navy;  and,  for  the  special  defence  and  safety  of  the  com 
monwealth,  to  assemble  in  martial  array,  and  put  in  war 
like  posture,   the  inhabitants   thereof;   and   to  lead  and 
conduct  them,  and  with  them  to  encounter,  repel,  resist, 
expel,  and  pursue,  by  force  of  arms,  as  well  by  sea  as  by 
land,  within  or  without  the  limits  of  this  commonwealth  ; 
and  also  to  kill,  slay,  and  destroy,  if  necessary,  and  con 
quer,  by  all  fitting  ways,  enterprises,  and  means  whatso 
ever,  all  and  every  such  person  or  persons,  as  shall  at 
any  time  hereafter,  in  a  hostile  manner,  attempt  or  enter 
prise  the  destruction,  invasion,  detriment,  or  annoyance 
of  this  commonwealth;  and  to  use  and  exercise  over  the 
army  and  navy,  and  over  the  militia  in  actual  service,  the 
law  martial,  in  time  of  war  or  invasion,  and  also  in  time 
of  rebellion,  (declared  by  the  legislature  to  exist,)  as  oc 
casion  shall  necessarily  require  ;  and  to  take  and  surprise, 
by  all  ways  and  means  whatsoever,  all  and   every  such 
person  or  persons  (with  their  ships,  arms,  ammunition, 
and  goods)  as  shall,  in  a  hostile  manner,  invade,  or  at 
tempt  the  invading,  conquering,  or  annoying  this  com 
monwealth  :    and  that  the  Governor  be  intrusted  with  all 
these  and  other  powers  incident  to  the  offices  of  captain- 
goneral,  and   commander-in-chief,  and  admiral,  to  be  ex 
ercised  agreeably  to  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Con 
stitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  not  otherwise. 

Provided,  that  the  said  Governor  shall  not,  at  any  time 
hereafter,  by  virtue  of  any  power  by  this  Constitution 
granted,  or  hereafter  to  be  granted  to  him  by  the  legisla 
ture,  transport  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  common 


CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  39 

wealth,  or  oblige  them  to  march  out  of  the  limits  of  the 
same,  without  their  free  and  voluntary  consent,  or  the 
consent  of  the  general  court ;  except  so  far  as  may  be  ne 
cessary  to  march  or  transport  them  by  land  or  water,  for 
the  defence  of  such  part  of  the  State,  to  which  they  can 
not  conveniently  have  access. 

8.  The  power  of  pardoning  offences,  except  such  as 
persons  may  be  convicted  of  before  the  Senate  by  an  im 
peachment  of  the  House,  shall  be  in  the  Governor,  by 
and  with  the  advice  of  council;  but  no  charter  of  pardon, 
granted  by  the  Governor,  with  advice  of  the  council,  be 
fore  conviction,  shall  avail  the  party  pleading  the  same, 
notwithstanding   any  general   or   particular   expressions 
contained  therein,  descriptive  of  the  offence  or  offences 
intended  to  be  pardoned. 

9.  All  judicial  officers,  the  attorney-general,  the  soli 
citor-general,  all  sheriffs,  coroners,  and  registers  of  pro 
bate,  shall  be  nominated  and  appointed  by  the  Governor, 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  council ;  and 
every  such  nomination  shall  be  made  by  the  Governor,  and 
made  at  least  seven  days  prior  to  such  appointment. 

10.  The  captains  and  subalterns  of  the  militia  shall  be 
elected  by  the  written  votes  of  the  train  band  and  alarm 
list  of  their  respective  companies,  of  twenty-one  years  of 
age  and  upwards.     The  field  officers  of  regiments  shall 
be  elected  by  the  written  votes  of  the  captains  and  sub 
alterns  of  their  respective    regiments.     The    brigadiers 
shall  be  elected,  in  like  manner,  by  the  field  officers  of 
their  respective  brigades.     And  such  officers,  so  elected, 
shall  be  commissioned  by  the  Governor,  who  shall  deter 
mine  their  rank. 

The  legislature  shall,  by  standing  laws,  direct  the  time 
and  manner  of  convening  the  electors,  and  of  collecting 
votes,  and  of  certifying  to  the  Governor  the  officers  elected. 

The  major-generals  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  each  having  a  negative 
upon  the  other;  and  be  commissioned  by  the  Governor. 

And  if  the  electors  of  brigadiers,  field  officers,  captains, 
or  subalterns,  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  make  such  elec 
tions,  after  being  duly  notified  according  to  the  laws  of 
the  time  being,  then  the  Governor  with  advice  of  council 
shall  appoint  suitable  persons  to  fill  such  offices 


40  CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

And  no  officer,  duly  commissioned  to  command  in  the 
militia,  shall  be  removed  from  his  office,  but  by  the  ad 
dress  of  both  Houses  to  the  Governor,  or  by  fair  trial  in 
court-martial,  pursuant  to  the  laws  of  the  commonwealth 
for  the  time  being. 

The  commanding  officers  of  regiments  shall  appoint 
their  adjutants  and  quarter-masters  ;  the  brigadiers  their 
brigade-majors;  and  the  major-generals  their  aids;  and 
the  Governor  shall  appoint  the  adjutant-general. 

The  Governor,  with  advice  of  council,  shall  appoint  all 
officers  of  the  continental  army,  whom  (by  the  confedera 
tion  of  the  United  States)  it  is  provided  that  this  com 
monwealth  shall  appoint,  as  also  all  officers  of  forts  and 
garrisons. 

The  divisions  of  the  militia  into  brigades,  regiments, 
and  companies,  made  in  pursuance  of  the  militia  laws 
now  in  force,  shall  be  considered  as  the  proper  divisions 
of  the  militia  of  this  commonwealth,  until  the  same  shall 
be  altered  in  pursuance  of  some  future  law. 

11.  No  moneys  shall  be  issued  out  of  the  treasury  of 
this  commonwealth,   and  be  disposed   of  (except  such 
sums  as  may  be  appropriated  for  the  redemption  of  bills 
of  credit  or  treasurer's  notes,  or  for  the  payment  of  inte 
rest  arising  thereon)  but  by  warrant,  under  the  hand  of  the 
Governor  for  the  time  being,  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  council,  for  the  necessary  defence  and  support  of 
the  commonwealth,  and  for  the  protection  and  preserva 
tion  of  the  inhabitants  thereof,  agreeably  to  the  act  and 
resolves  of  the  general  court. 

12.  All  public  boards,  the  commissary-general,  all  su 
perintending  officers  of  public  magazines  and  stores,  be 
longing  to  this  commonwealth,  and  all  commanding  offi 
cers  of  forts  and  garrisons  within  the  same,  shall,  once  in 
every  three  months,   officially,  and  without  requisition, 
and  at  other  times,  when  required  by  the  Governor,  deli 
ver  to  him  an  account  of  all  goods,  stores,  provisions, 
ammunition,  cannon,   with  their  appendages,  and  small 
arms,   with  their  accoutrements,   and  of  all  other  public 
property  whatever,  under  their  care  respectively  ;  distin 
guishing  the  quantity,  number,  quality,  and  kind  of  each, 
as  particular  as  may  be  ;  together  with  the  condition  of 


CCLNST1TUTIOA   OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  41 

such  forts  and  garrisons.  And  the  said  commanding  of 
ficer  shall  exhibit  to  the  Governor,  when  required  by 
him,  true  and  exact  plans  of  such  forts,  and  of  the  land 
and  sea,  harbor  or  harbors,  adjacent. 

And  the  said  boards  and  all  public  officers  shall  com 
municate  to  the  Governor,  as  soon  as  may  be,  after  re 
ceiving  the  same,  all  despatches  and  intelligence  of  a  pub 
lic  nature,  which  shall  be  directed  to  them  respectively. 

13.  As  the  public  good  requires  that  the  Governor 
should  not  be  under  the  influence  of  any  of  the  members 
of  the  general  court,  by  a  dependence  on  them  for  his 
support:  that  he  should  in  all  cases  act  with  freedom  for 
the  benefit  of  the  public ;  that  he  should  not  have  his  at 
tention  necessarily  diverted  from  that  object,  to  his  pri 
vate  concerns  ;  and  that  he  should  maintain  the  dignity 
of  the  commonwealth,  in  the  character  of  its  chief  magis 
trate — it  is  necessary  that  he  should  have  an  honorable 
stated  salary,  of  a  fixed  and  permanent  value,  amply  suf 
ficient  for  those  purposes,  and  established  by  standing 
laws  ;  and  it  shall  be  among  the  first  acts  of  the  general 
court,  after  the  commencement  of  this  Constitution,  to  es 
tablish  such  salary  by  law  accordingly. 

Permanent  and  honorable  salaries  shall  also  be  esta 
blished  by  law  for  the  justices  of  the  supreme  judicial 
court.  ,' 

And  if  it  shall  be  found  that  any  of  the  salaries  afore 
said,  so  established,  are  insufficient,  ^hey  shall,  from 
time  to  time,  be  enlarged,  as  the  general  court  shall  judge 
proper. 


CHAPTER  IT.— SECTION  2. 
Lieutenant- Governor. 

Article  1.  There  shall  be  annually  elected  a  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  the  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  whose 
title  shall  be,  His  Honour;  and  who  shall  be  qualified, 
in  point  of  religion,  property,  and  residence  in  the  com 
monwealth,  in  the  same  manner  with  the  Governor ;  and 
the  day  and  manner  of  his  election,  and  the  qualifications 
of  the  electors,  shall  be  the  same  as  are  required  m  the 
4* 


42  CONSTITUTION  OF    MASSACHUSETTS. 

election  of  a  Governor.  The  return  of  the  votes  for  this 
officer,  and  the  declaration  of  his  election,  shall  be  in  the 
same  manner :  and  if  no  one  person  shall  be  found  to  have  a 
majority  of  all  the  votes  returned,  the  vacancy  shall  be 
filled  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  Governor  is  to  be  elected,  in  case  no 
one  person  shall  have  a  majority  of  the  votes  of  the  peo 
ple,  to  be  Governor. 

2.  The  Governor,  and,  in  his  absence,  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  shall  be  the  president  of  the  council ;  but  shall 
have  no  vote  in  council  ;  and   the  Lieutenant-Governor 
shall  always  be  a  member  of  the  council,   except  when 
the  chair  of  the  Governor  shall  be  vacant. 

3.  Whenever  the  chair  of  the  Governor  shall  be  vacant 
by  reason  of  his  death,  or  absence   from  the  common 
wealth,  or  otherwise,   the   Lieutenant-Governor  for  the 
time  being  shall,    during  such  vacancy,  perform  all  thf 
duties  incumbent  upon  the  Governor,  and  shall  have  and 
exercise  all  the  power  and  authorities  which,  by  this  Con 
stitution,  the  Governor  is  vested  with,  when  personally 
present. 

CHAPTER  II.— SECTION  3, 

Council,  and  the  manner  of  settling  Elections  by  the 
Legislature. 

Article  1.  There  shall  be  a  council  for  advising  the 
Governor  in  the  Executive  part  of  the  Government,  to 
consist  of  nine  persons,  besides  the  Lieutenant-Governor, 
whom  the  Governor,  for  the  time  being,  shall  have  full 
power  and  authority  from  time  to  time,  at  his  discretion, 
to  assemble  and  call  together:  and  the  Governor,  with  the 
said  counsellors,  or  five  of  them  at  least,  shall  and  may, 
from  time  to  time,  hold  and  keep  a  council,  for  the  order 
ing  and  directing  the  affairs  of  the  commonwealth,  accord 
ing  to  the  laws  of  the  land. 

2.  Nine  counsellors  shall  be  annually  chosen  from 
among  the  persons  returned  from  the  counsellors  and 
senators,  on  the  last  Wednesday  in  May,  by  the  joint 
ballot  of  the  senators  and  representatives,  assembled  in 


CONSTITUTION  OF   MASSACHUSETTS.  43 

one  room :  and  in  case  there  shall  not  be  found,  upon  the 
first  choice,  the  whole  number  of  nine  persons,  who  will 
accept  a  seat  in  the  council,  the  deficiency  shall  be  made 
up  by  the  electors  aforesaid,  from  among  the  people  at 
large  ;  and  the  number  of  senators  left  shall  constitute  tho 
Senate  for  the  year.  The  seats  for  the  persons  thus 
elected  from  the  Senate,  and  accepting  the  trust,  shall  be 
vacated  in  the  Senate. 

3.  The  counsellors,  in  the  civil  arrangements  of  the 
commonwealth,  shall  have  rank  next  after  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor. 

4.  Not  more  than  two  counsellors  shall  be  chosen  out 
of  any  one  district  of  this  commonwealth. 

5.  The  resolutions  and  advice  of  the  council  shall  be 
recorded  in  a  register;  and  signed  by  the  members   pre 
sent:  and   this  record   may  be  called  for  at  any  time  by 
either  house  of  the  legislature  ;   and  any  member  of  the 
council  may  insert  his  opinion,  contrary  to  the  resolution 
of  the  majority. 

6.  Whenever  the  office  of  Governor  and  Lieutenant- 
Governor  shall  be  vacant,  by  reason  of  death,  absence,  or 
otherwise,  then  the  council,  or  the  major  part  of  them, 
shall,  during  such  vacancy,  have  full  power  and  authority 
to  do  and  to  execute  all  and  every  such  acts,  matters,  and 
things,  as  the  Governor  or  Lieutenant-Governor  might  or 
could,   by  virtue  of  this  Constitution,  do  or  execute,  if 
they  or  either  of  them  were  personally  present. 

7.  And  whereas  the  elections  appointed  to  be  made  by 
this  Constitution,  on  the  last  Wednesday  in  May  annual 
ly,  by  the  two  Houses  of  the  legislature,  may  not  be  com 
pleted  on  that  day,  the  said  elections  may  be  adjourned 
from  day  to  day  until  the  same  shall  be  completed.     And 
the  order  of  election  shall  be  as  follows  :  the  vacancies  in 
the  Senate,  if  any,  shall  first  be  filled  up ;  the  Governor 
and  Lieutenant-Governor  shall  then  be  elected,  provided 
there  shall  be  no  choice  of  them  by  the  people  ;  and  after 
wards  the  two  Houses  shall  proceed  to  the  election  of  the 
council. 


41  CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

CHAPTER  II.— SECTION  4. 
Secretary,  Treasurer,  Commissary,  fyc. 

Article  1.  The.  secretary,  treasurer,  and  receiver-gene 
ral,  and  the  commissary-general,  notaries  public,  and  na 
val  officers,  shall  be  chosen  annually,  by  joint  ballot  of 
the  senators  and  representatives,  in  one  room ;  and  that 
the  citizens  of  this  commonwealth  may  be  assured,  from 
time  to  time,  that  the  moneys  remaining  in  the  public 
treasury  upon  the  settlement  and  liquidation  of  the  public 
accounts,  are  their  property,  no  man  shall  be  eligible  as 
treasurer  and  receiver-general  more  than  five  years  suc 
cessively. 

2.  The  records  of  the  commonwealth  shall  be  kept  in 
the  office  of  the  secretary,  who  may  appoint  his  deputies, 
for  whose  conduct  he  shall  be  accountable ;  and  he  shall 
attend  the  Governor  and  council,  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives,  in  person,  or  by  his  deputies,  as  they 
shall  respectively  require. 

CHAPTER  III. 
Judiciary  Power. 

Article  1.  The  tenure  that  all  commission  officers  shall, 
by  law,  have  in  their  offices,  shall  be  expressed  in  their 
respective  commissions  ;  all  judicial  officers,  duly  appoint 
ed,  commissioned,  and  sworn,  shall  hold  their  offices 
during  good  behaviour  ;  excepting  such  concerning  whom 
there  is  different  provision  made  in  this  Constitution:  Pro 
vided,  nevertheless,  the  Governor,  with  consent  of  the 
council,  may  remove  them  upon  the  address  of  both 
Houses  of  the  legislature. 

2.  Each  branch  of  the  legislature,  as  well  as  the  Go 
vernor  and  council,   shall  have   authority  to  require  the 
opinions  of  the  justices  of  the  supreme  judicial  court,  up 
on  important  questions   of  law,   and  upon  solemn  occa 
sions. 

3.  In  order  that  the  people   may  not  suffer  from  the 
long  continuance  in  place  of  any  justice  of  the  peace,  who 


CONSTITUTION  OF   MASSACHUSETTS.  45 

shall  fail  of  discharging  the  important  duties  of  his  office 
with  ability  or  fidelity,  all  commissions  of  justices  of  the 
peace  shall  expire  and  become  void  in  the  term  of  seven 
years  from  their  respective  dates  ;  and  upon  the  expira 
tion  of  any  commission,  the  same  may,  if  necessary,  be 
renewed,  or  another  person  appointed,  as  shall  most  con 
duce  to  the  well-being  of  the  commonwealth. 

4.  The  judges  of  probates   of  wills,  and  for  granting 
letters  of  administration,  shall  hold  their  courts  at  such 
place  or  places,  on  fixed  days,  as  the  convenience  of  the 
people  may  require :  and  the  legislature  shall,  from  time 
to  time  hereafter,   appoint  such  times  and  places  :  until 
which  appointments,  the  said   courts  shall  be  holden  at 
the  times  and  places  which  the  respective  judges  shall  di 
rect. 

5.  All    the  causes  of  marriage,  divorce,  and  alimony, 
and  all  appeals  from  the  judges  of  probate,  shall  be  heard 
and  determined  by  the  Governor  and  council,  until  the 
legislature  shall,  by  law,  make  other  provisions. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Delegates  to  Congress. 

The  Delegates  of  this  commonwealth  to  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  shall,  some  time  in  the  month  of 
June  annually,  be  elected  by  joint  ballot  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  assembled  together  in  one 
room  ;  to  serve  in  Congress  for  one  year,  to  commence 
on  the  first  Monday  in  November  the  next  ensuing. 
They  shall  have  commission  under  the  hand  of  the  Go 
vernor,  and  the  great  seal  of  the  commonwealth  ;  but 
may  be  recalled  at  any  time  within  the  year,  and  others 
chosen  and  commissioned  in  the  same  manner,  in  their 
stead. 


46  CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

To  the  University  at  Cambridge,  and  Encouragement 
of  Literature,  fyc. 

SECTION  1. — THE  UNIVERSITY. 

Article  1.  Whereas  our  wise  and  pious  ancestors,  so 
early  as  the  year  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty-six, 
laid  the  foundation  of  Harvard  college,  in  which  univer 
sity  many  persons  of  great  eminence  have,  by  the  bless 
ing  of  God,  been  initiated  into  those  arts  and  sciences 
which  qualified  them  for  public  employments  both  in 
church  and  state:  and  whereas  the  encouragement  of  arts 
and  sciences,  and  all  good  literature,  tends  to  the  honor  of 
God,  the  advantage  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  the 
great  benefit  of  this  and  the  other  United  States 
of  America,  it  is  declared  that  the  president  and 
fellows  of  Harvard  college  in  their  corporate  capa 
city,  and  their  successors  in  that  capacity,  their  offi 
cers  and  servants,  shall  have,  hold,  use,  exercise,  and  en 
joy,  all  the  powers,  authorities,  rights,  liberties,  privileges, 
immunities,  and  franchises,  which  they  now  have,  or  are 
entitled  to  have,  hold,  use,  exercise,  and  enjoy :  and  the 
same  are  hereby  ratified  and  confirmed  unto  them,  the 
said  president,  and  fellows  of  Harvard  college,  and  to  their 
successors,  and  to  their  officers  and  servants,  respective 
ly,  for  ever. 

2.  And  whereas  there  have  been,  at  sundry  times,  by 
divers  persons,  gifts,  grants,  devises  of  houses,  lands, 
tenements,  goods,  chattels,  legacies,  and  conveyances, 
heretofore  made,  either  to  Harvard  college,  in  Cambridge, 
in  New  England,  or  to  the  president  and  fellows  of  Har 
vard  college,  or  to  the  said  college,  by  some  other  descrip 
tion,  under  several  charges  successively — it  is  declared, 
that  all  the  said  gifts,  grants,  devises,  legacies,  and  con 
veyances,  are  hereby  for  ever  confirmed  unto  the  presi 
dent  and  fellows  of  Harvard  college,  and  to  their  successors 
in  the  capacity  aforesaid,  according  to  the  true  intent  and 
meaning  of  the  donor  or  donors,  grantor  and  grantors,  de 
visor  or  devisors. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  4? 

3.  And  whereas,  by  an  act  of  the  general  court  of  the 
colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  passed  in  the  year  one 
thousand  six  hundred  and  forty-two,  the  Governor,  and  de 
puty-Governor,  for  the  time  being,  and  all  the  magistrates 
of  that  jurisdiction,  were,  with  the  president  and  a  num 
ber  of  the  clergy  in  the  said  act  described,  constituted  the 
overseers  of  Harvard  college :  and  it  being  necessary  in 
this  new  constitution  of  government,  to  ascertain  who 
shall  be  deemed  successors  to  the  said  Governor,  deputy- 
Governor,and  magistrates,  it  is  declared  that  the  Governor, 
Lieutenant-Governor,  Council,  and  Senate  of  this  common 
wealth,  are  and  shall  be  deemed  their  successors  :  who, 
with  the  president  of  Harvard  college,  for  the  time  being, 
together  with  the  ministers  of  the  congregational  churches 
in  the  towns  of  Cambridge,  Watertown,  Charlestown, 
Boston,  Roxbury,  and  Dorchester,  mentioned  in  the  said 
act,  shall  be,  and  hereby  are,  vested  with  all  the  powers 
and  authority  belonging,  or  in  any  way  appertaining  to 
the  overseers  of  Harvard  college  :  provided,  that  nothing 
herein  sliail  be  construed  to  prevent  the  legislature  of  this 
commonwealth  from  making  such  alterations  in  the  go 
vernment  of  the  said  university  as  shall  be  conducive  to 
its  advantage,  and  the  interest  of  the  republic  of  letters 
in  as  full  a  manner  as  might  have  been  done  by  the  legis 
lature  of  the  late  province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay. 


CHAPTER  V. 

SECTION  2. — The  Encouragement  of  IMerature. 

Wisdom  and  knowledge,  as  well  as  virtue,  diffused  gen 
erally  among  the  body  of  the  people,  being  necessary  for 
the  preservation  of  their  rights  and  liberties,  and  as  these 
depend  on  spreading  the  opportunities  and  advantages  of 
education  in  the  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  among 
the  different  orders  of  the  people,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  legislatures  and  magistrates,  in  all  future  periods  of 
this  commonwealth,  to  cherish  the  interest  of  literature 
and  the  sciences,  and  all  seminaries  of  them  :  especially 
the  university 'at  Cambridge,  public  schools,  and  grammar 
schools  in  the  towns  ;  to  encourage  private  societies  and 


48  CONSTITUTION  OF    MASSACHUSETTS. 

public  institutions,  by  rewards  and  immunities  for  the 
promotion  of  agriculture,  arts,  sciences,  commerce,  trades, 
manufactures,  and  a  natural  history  of  the  country  ;  to 
countenance  and  inculcate  the  principles  of  humanity  and 
general  benevolence,  public  and  private  charity,  industry 
and  frugality,  honesty  and  punctuality  in  their  dealings  : 
sincerity,  good  humor,  and  all  social  affections  and  gene 
rous  sentiments  among  the  people. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Oaths  and  subscriptions ;  incompatibility  of,  and  exclusion  f> 


offices  ,•  pecuniary  qualifications ;  commissions ;  writs ;  confirma 
tion  of  laws ;  habeas  corpus  ,•  the  enacting  style ;  continuance 
of  officers  ;  provision  for  a  future  rcvisal  of  the  Constitution,  $~c. 

Article  1.  Any  person  chosen  Governor,  or  Lieute 
nant-Governor,  counsellors,  senator,  or  representative,  and 
accepting  the  trust,  shall,  before  he  proceed  to  execute 
the  duties  of  his  place  or  office,  take,  make,  and  sub 
scribe  the  following  declaration,  viz.  : 

"I,  A.  B.,  do  declare  that  I  believe  the  Christian  reli 
gion,  and  have  a  firm  persuasion  of  its  truth;  and 
that  I  am  seized  and  possessed,  in  my  own  right,  of 
the  property  required  by  the  Constitution,  as  one 
qualification  for  the  office  or  place  to  which  I  am 
elected." 

And  the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  counsel 
lors,  shall  make  and  subscribe  the  said  declaration  in  the 
presence  of  the  two  Houses  of  Assembly ;  and  the  sena 
tors  and  representatives  first  elected  under  this  Constitu 
tion,  before  the  president  and  five  of  the  council  of  the 
former  Constitution  ;  and,  for  ever  afterwards,  before  the 
Governor  and  council  for  the  time  being. 

And  every  person  chosen  to  either  of  the  places  or 
offices  aforesaid,  as  also  any  person  appointed  or  com 
missioned  to  any  judicial,  executive,  military,  or  other 
office,  under  the  government,  shall,  before  he  enter  on  the 
discharge  of  the  business  of  his  place  or  office,  take  and 
subscribe  the  following  declaration  and  oaths,  or  affirma 
tions;  viz,  : 


CONSTITUTION  OF   MASSACHUSETTS.  49 

"  I,  A.  B.,  do  truly  and  sincerely  acknowledge,  pro 
fess,  testify,  and  declare,  that  the  commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts  is,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  a  free, 
sovereign,  and  independent  state  ;  and  I  do  swear  that 
I  will  bear  true  faith  and  allegiance  to  the  said  com 
monwealth,  and  I  will  defend  the  same  against  trai 
torous  conspiracies,  and  all  hostile  attempts  whatso 
ever  :  and  that  I  do  renounce  and  abjure  all  allegi 
ance,  subjection,  and  obedience  to  the  king,  queen, 
or  government  of  Great  Britain,  as  the  case  may  be, 
and  every  foreign  power  whatsoever :  and  that  no 
foreign  prince,  person,  prelate,  state,  or  potentate, 
hath,  or  ought  to  have,  any  jurisdiction,  superiority, 
pre-eminence,  authority,  dispensing  or  other  power, 
in  any  matter,  civil,  ecclesiastical,  or  spiritual,  with 
in  this  commonwealth,  except  the  authority  and 
power  which  is  or  may  be  vested  by  their  constitu 
ents  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States:  And  I 
do  further  testify  and  declare,  that  no  man  or  body  of 
men  hath  or  can  have  any  right  to  absolve  or  dis 
charge  me  from  the  obligation  of  this  oath,  declara 
tion,  or  affirmation  ;  and  that  I  do  make  this  acknow 
ledgment,  profession,  testimony,  declaration,  denial 
renunciation,  and  abjuration  heartily  and  truly,  ac 
cording  to  the  common  meaning  and  acceptation  of 
the  foregoing  words,  without  any  equivocation,  men- 
•  tal  evasion,  or  secret  reservation  whatsoever.  So 
help  me  God. 

"I,  A.  B.,  do  solemnly  swear  and  affirm,  that  I  will 
faithfully  and  impartially  discharge  and  perform  all 
the  duties  incumbent  on  me  as ,  accord 
ing  to  the  best  of  my  abilities  and  understanding, 
agreeably  to  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Consti 
tution,  and  the  laws  of  this  commonwealth.  So 
help  me  God." 

Provided  always,  that  when  any  person  chosen  or  ap 
pointed  as  aforesaid  shall  be  of  the  denomination  of  the 
people  called  Quakers,  and  shall  decline  taking  the  said 
oaths,  he  shall  make  his  affirmation,  in  the  foregoing 
form,  and  subscribe  the  same,  omitting  the  words,  "I  do 
swear,"  "and  abjure,"  "  oath,"  "  and  abjuration,"  in 


50  CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

the  first  oath  ;  and  in  the  second  oath,  the  words  "  swear 
and,"  and  in  each  of  them  the  words  "  so  help  me  God  ;" 
subjoining  instead  thereof,  "  This  I  do  under  the  pains 
and  penalties  of  perjury ." 

And  in  the  said  oaths  or  affirmations  shall  be  taken  and 
subscribed  by  the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  and 
counsellors,  before  the  president  of  the  Senate,  in  the  pre 
sence  of  two  Houses  of  Assembly  :  and  by  the  senators 
and  representatives  first  elected  under  this  Constitution, 
before  the  president  and  five  of  the  council  of  the  former 
Constitution  ;  and,  for  ever  afterwards,  before  the  Gover 
nor  and  Council  for  the  time  being ;  and  by  the  residue 
of  the  officers  aforesaid,  before  such  persons  as,  from 
time  to  time,  shall  be  prescribed  by  the  legislature. 

2.  No  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  or  judge  of  the 
supreme  judicial  court,  shall  hold  any  office  or  place  under 
the  authority  of  this  commonwealth,  except  such  as  by 
this  Constitution  they  are  admitted  to  hold,  saving  that 
the  judges  of  the  said  court  may  hold  the  offices  of  jus 
tices  of  the  peace  throughout  the  State  ;  nor  shall  they 
hold  any  other  place  or  office,  or  receive  any  pension  or 
salary,  from  any  other  State,  or  Government,  or  power 
whatever. 

No  person  shall  be  capable  of  holding  or  exercising,  at 
the  same  time,  more   than  one  of  the  following  offices 
within  this  State,  viz.  :  judge  of  probate,  sheriff,  register 
of  probate,  or  register  of  deeds  :  and  never  more  than  any 
two  offices,  which  are  to  be  held  by  appointment  of  the 
Governor,  or  the   Governor  and  council,  or  the  Senate, 
or  the    House   of   Representatives,    or   by    election  of 
the    people    of    the    State    at    large,    or    of    the    peo 
ple  of  any  county,  (military  officer  and  the  office  of  jus 
tice  of  the  peace  excepted,)  shall  be  held  by  one  person. 
No  person  holding  the  office  of  judge  of  the  supreme  judi 
cial  court,  secretary ,  attorney-general,   solicitor-general, 
treasurer,  or  receiver-general,  judge  of  probate,  commissa 
ry.general,  president,  professor,  or  instructor  of  Harvard 
college,  sheriff,  clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  re 
gister  of  probate,  register  of  deeds,  clerk  of  the  supreme  ju 
dicial  court,  clerk  of  the  inferior  court  of  common  pleas,  01 
officer  of  the  customs,  (including  in  this  description  naval 


CO.NSTITLTIOA   OF   MASSACHUSETTS.  51 

officers,)  shall  at  the  same  time  have  a  seat  in  the  Senate 
or  House  of  Representatives ;  but,  their  being  chosen  or 
appointed  to,  a-nd  accepting  the  same,  shall  operate  as  a  re 
signation  of  their  seat  in  the  Senate  or  House  of  Represen 
tatives  ;  and  the  places  so  vacated  shall.be  filled  up. 

And  the  same  rule  shall  take  place  in  case  any  judge 
of  the  said  supreme  judicial  court,  or  judge  of  probate, 
shall  accept  a  seat  in  council,  or  any  counsellor  shall  ac 
cept  of  either  of  those  offices  or  places. 

And  no  person  shall  ever  be  admitted  to  hold  a  seat  in 
the  legislature,  or  any  office  of  trust  or  importance  under 
the  government  of  this  commonwealth,  who  shall,  in  the 
due  course  of  law,  have  been  convicted  of  bribery  or  cor 
ruption  in  obtaining  an  election  or  appointment. 

3.  In  all  cases  where  sums  of  money  are  mentioned  in 
this  Constitution,  the  value  thereof,  shall  be  computed  in 
silver,  at  six  shillings  and  eight  pence  per  ounce  ;  and  it 
shall  be  in  the  power  of  the  legislature  from  time  to  time, 
to  increase  such  qualifications,  as  to  property,  of  the  per 
sons  to  be  elected  into  offices,  as  the  circumstances  of  the 
commonwealth  shall  require. 

4.  All  commissions  shall  be  in  -the  name  of  the  com 
monwealth  of  Massachusetts;  signed  by  the  Governor, 
and  attested  by  the  secretary  or  his  deputy,  and  have  the 
great  seal  of  the  commonwealth  affixed  thereto. 

5.  All  writs  issuing  out  of  the  clerk's  office  in  any  of 
the  courts  of  law,  shall  be  in  the  name  of  the  common 
wealth   of    Massachusetts ;    they    shall    be    under    the 
seal    of    the     court    from    whence    they    issue  \    they 
shall  bear  test  of  the  first  justice  of  the  court  to  which 
they  shall  be  returnable,  (who-is  nota  party,)  and  be  sign 
ed  by  the  clerk  of  such  court, 

6.  All  the  laws  which  have  heretofore  been  adopted, 
used,  and  approved  of  in  the  province,  colony,  or  State 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  usually  practised  on  in  the 
courts  of  law,  shall  still  remain  and  be  in  full  force,  until 
altered  or  repealed  by  the  legislature:  such  parts  only 
excepted  as  are  repugnant  to  the  rights  and  liberties  con 
tained  in  this  Constitution. 

7.  The  privilege  and  benefit  of  the  writ  of  habeas  cor 
pus  shall  be  enjoyed  in  this  commonwealth  in  the   most 


52  CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

free,  easy,  cheap,  expeditious,  and  ample  manner ;  and 
shall  not  be  suspended  by  the  legislature,  except  upon 
the  most  urgent  and  pressing  occasions,  and  for  a  limited 
time,  not  exceeding  twelve  months. 

8.  The  enacting  style,  in  making  and  passing  all  acts, 
statutes,  and  laws,  shall  be,  "  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  in  general  court  assem 
bled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same.11 

9.  To  the  end  there  may  be  no  failure  of  justice,  or 
danger  arise  to  the  commonwealth,  from  a  change  of  the 
form  of  government,  all  officers,  civil  and  military,  hold 
ing  commissions  under  the  government  and    people  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  and  all  other  officers 
of  said   government  and   people,  at  the  time  this   Con 
stitution  shall  take  effect,  shall  have,  hold,  use,  exercise, 
and  enjoy,  all  the  powers  and   authority  to  them   granted 
or  committed,  until  other  persons  shall   be  appointed  in 
their  stead  ;  and  all  courts  of  law  shall  proceed  in  the  ex 
ecution  of  the  business  of  their  respective   departments  : 
and  all  the  executive  and  legislative   officers,  bodies,  and 
powers,  shall  continue  in  full  force  in  the  enjoyment  and 
exercise  of  all  their  trusts,  employment,  and   authority, 
until  the  general  court,  and  the   supreme  and  executive 
officers,  under  this  Constitution,  are  designated  and  in 
vested  with  their  respective  trusts,  powers,  and  authority. 

10.  In  order  more   effectually  to  adhere  to  the  princi 
ples    of  the   Constitution,    and    correct  those    violations 
which  by  any  means  may  be  made  therein,  as  well  as  to 
form  such  alterations  as  from  experience  shall  be  found 
necessary,  the  general  court  which  shall  be  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-five, 
shall  issue  precepts  to  the  selectmen  of  the  several  towns, 
and  to  the  assessors  of  the  unincorporated  plantations,  di 
recting  them  to  convene  the  qualified  voters  of  their  re 
spective  towns  and  plantations,  for  the  purpose  of  collect 
ing  their  sentiments  on   the  necessity  of  expediency  of 
revising  the  Constitution,  in  order  to  amendments. 

And  if  it  shall  appear,  by  the  returns  made,  that  two- 
thirds  of  the  qualified  voters  throughout  the  State,  who 
shall  assemble  and  vote  in  consequence  of  the  said  .pre 
cepts,  are  in  favor  of  such  revision  or  amendment,  the 


CONSTITUTION   OF   MASSACHUSETTS.  53 

general  court  shall  issue  precepts,  or  direct  them  to  be 
issued  from  the  secretary's  office,  to  the  several  towns,  to 
elect  delegates  to  meet  in  Convention,  for  the  purpose 
aforesaid. 

The  said  delegates  to  be  chosen  in  the  same  manner 
and  proportion,  as  their  representatives  in  the  second 
branch  of  the  legislature  are  by  this  Constitution  to  be 
chosen. 

11.  This  form  of  Government  shall  be  enrolled  on 
parchment,  and  deposited  in  the  secretary's  office,  and  be 
a  part  of  the  laws  of  the  land :  and  printed  copies  thereof 
shall  be  prefixed  to  the  book  containing  the  laws  of  this 
commonwealth,  in  all  future  editions  of  the  said  laws. 
JAMES  BOWDOIN,  President. 

Attest,  SAMUEL  BARRET,  Secretary. 


AMENDMENTS. 

Article  1.  If  any  bill  or  resolve  shall  be  objected  to, 
and  not  approved  of  by  the  Governor  ;  and  if  the  general 
court  shall  adjourn  within  five  days  after  the  same  shall 
have  been  laid  before  the  Governor  for  his  approbation, 
and  thereby  prevent  his  returning  it,  with  his  objections, 
as  provided  by  the  Constitution  ;  such  bill  or  resolve 
shall  not  become  a  law,  nor  have  force  as  such. 

Art.  2.  The  general  court  shall  have  full  power  and  au 
thority  to  erect  or  constitute  municipal  or  city  govern 
ments  in  any  corporate  town  or  towns,  in  this  common 
wealth,  and  to  grant  to  the  inhabitants  thereof  such 
powers,  privileges,  and  immunities,  not  repugnant  to  the 
Constitution,  as  the  general  court  shall  deem  necessary  or 
expedient,  for  the  regulation  and  Government  thereof, 
and  to  prescribe  the  manner  of  calling  and  holding  public 
meetings  of  the  inhabitants  in  wards,  or  otherwise,  for 
the  election  of  officers,  tinder  the  Constitution,  and  the 
manner  of  returning  the  votes  given  at  such  meetings  : 
provided,  that  no  such  Government  shall  be  erected  or 
constituted  in  any  town  not  containing  twelve  thousand 
inhabitants,  nor  unless  it  be  with  the  consent,  and  on  the 
application  of  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  such  town, 
present  and  voting  thereon,  pursuant  to  a  vote  at  a  meet- 


CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

ing  duly  warned  and  holden  for  that  purpose  :  and  pro 
vided,  also,  that  all  by-laws,  made  by  such  municipal  or 
city  government,  shall  be  subject,  at  all  times,  to  be  an 
nulled  by  the  general  court. 

Art.  3.  Every  male  citizen  of  twenty -one  years  of  age, 
and  upwards,  (excepting  paupers  and  persons  under 
guardianship,)  who  shall  have  resided  within  the  com 
monwealth  one  year,  and  within  the  town  or  district  in 
which  he  may  claim  a  right  to  vote,  six  calendar  months 
next  preceding  any  election  of  Governor,  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  senators,  representatives,  and. who  shall  have 
paid,  by  himself  or  his  parent,  master  or  guardian,  any 
state  or  county  tax,  which  shall,  within  two  years  next 
preceding  such  election,  have  been  assessed  upon  him, 
in  any  town  or  district  of  this  commonwealth  :  and  also 
every  citizen,  who  shall  be  by  law  exempt  from  taxation, 
and  who  shall  be  in  all  other  respects  qualified  as  above 
mentioned,  shall  have  a  right  to  vote  in  such  eleciion  of 
Governor,  and  Lieuteaant-Governor,  senators,  and  repre 
sentatives  ;  and  no  other  person  shall  be  entitled  to  a 
vote  in  such  election. 

Art.  4.  Notaries  public  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Go 
vernor,  in  the  same  manner  as  judicial  officers  are  ap 
pointed,  and  shall  hold  their  offices  during  seven  years, 
unless  sooner  removed  by  the  Governor,  with  the  con 
sent  of  the  council,  and  upon  the  address  of  both  Houses 
of  the  legislature. 

In  case  the  office  of  secretary  or  treasurer  of  the  common 
wealth  shall  become  vacant  from  any  cause,  during  the  re 
cess  of  the  general  court,  the  Governor,  with  the  consent  of 
the  council  shall  nominate  and  appoint,  under  such  regula 
tions  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law, a  competent  and  suitable 
person  to  such  vacant  office,  who  shall  hold  the  same  until  a 
successor  shall  be  appointed  by  the  general  court. 

Whenever  the  exigencies  of  the  commonwealth  shall 
require  the  appointment  of  a  commissary-general,  he  shall 
be  nominated,  appointed,  and  commissioned,  in  such 
manner  as  the  legislature  may,  by  law,  prescribe. 

All  officers  commissioned  to  command  in.  the  militia, 
may  be  removed  from  office  in  such  manner  as  the  legis 
lature  may,  by  law,  prescribe. 


CONSTITUTION  OF   MASSACHUSETTS.  55 

Art.  5.  In  the  election  of  captains  and  subalterns  of  the 
militia,  all  the  members  of  their  respective  companies,  as 
well  as  those  under,  as  those  above  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  shall  have  a  right  to  vote. 

Art.  6.  Instead  of  the  oath  of  allegiance,  prescribed  by 
the  Constitution,  the  following  oath  shall  be  taken  and 
subscribed  by  every  person  chosen  or  appointed  to  any 
office,  civil  or  military,  under  the  government  of  this  com 
mon  wealth,  before  he  shall  enter  upon  the  duties  of  his 
office,  to  wit : 

"  I,  A.  B-,  do  solemnly  swear,  that  I  will  bear  true 
faith  and  allegiance  to  the  commonwealth  of  Massachu 
setts,  and  will  support  the  Constitution  thereof.  So  help 
me  God." 

Provided,  that  when  any  person  shall  be  of  the  denomi 
nation  called  Quakers,  and  shall  decline  taking  said  oath, 
he  shall  make  his  affirmation  in  the  foregoing  form, 
omitting  the  word  "  swear,"  and  inserting,  instead  there 
of,  the  word  *'  affirm,"  and  omitting  the  words  "  so  help 
me  God,"  and  subjoining,  instead  thereof,  the  words 
"  this  I  do  under  the  pains  and  penalties  of  perjury." 

Art.  7.  No  oath,  declaration,  or  subscription,  except 
ing  the  oath  prescribed  in  the  preceding  article,  and  the 
oath  of  office,  shall  be  required  of  the  Governor,  Lieute- 
nant-Governor,  counsellors,  senators,  or  representatives,  to 
qualify  them  to  perform  the  duties  of  their  respective 
offices. 

Art.  8.  No  judge  of  any  court  of  this  commonwealth, 
(except  the  court  of  sessions,)  and  no  person  holding  any 
office  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  (post  mas 
ters  excepted,)  shall,  at  the  same  time,  hold  the  office  of 
Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  or  counsellor,  or  have  a 
seat  in  the  Senate  or  House  of  Representatives  of  this 
commonwealth;  and  no  judge  of  any  court  in  this  com 
monwealth,  (except  the  court  of  sessions,)  nor  the  attor 
ney-general,  solicitor-general,  county  attorney,  clerk  of 
any  court,  sheriff,  treasurer,  and  receiver-general,  registei 
of  probate,  nor  register  of  deeds,  shall  continue  to  hold 
his  said  office  after  being  elected  a  member  of  the  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States,  and  accepting  that  trust ;  but 
ne  acceptance  of  such  trust,  by  any  of  the  officers  afore- 


56  CONSTITUTION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

said,  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  to  be  a  resignation  of  his 
said  office ;  and  judges  of  the  courts  of  common  pleas 
shall  hold  no  other  office,  under  the  government  of  this 
commonwealth,  the  office  of  the  justice  of  the  peace  and 
militia  officers  excepted. 

Art.  9.  If  at  any  time  hereafter,  any  specific  and  particu 
lar  amendment,  or  amendments  to  the  Constitution  be 
proposed  in  the  general  court,  and  agreed  to  by  a  majori 
ty  of  the  senators,  and  two-thirds  of  the  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  present  and  voting  thereon,  such 
proposed  amendment  or  amendments  shall  be  entered  on 
the  journals  of  the  two  Houses,  with  the  yeas  and  nays 
taken  thereon,  and  referred  to  the  general  court  then  next 
to  be  chosen,  and  shall  be  published  ;  and  if  in  the  general 
court  then  next  chosen,  as  aforesaid,  such  proposed 
amendment  or  amendments  shall  be  agreed  to  by  a  ma 
jority  of  the  senators  and  two-thirds  of  the  members  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  present  and  voting  thereon ; 
then  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  general  court  to  submit 
such  proposed  amendment  or  amendments  to  the  people ; 
and  if  they  shall  be  approved  and  ratified  by  a  majority 
of  the  qualified  voters  voting  thereon,  at  meetings  legally 
warned  and  holden  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  become 
part  of  the  Constitution  of  this  commonwealth. 

Resolved,  That  the  above  recited  articles  of  amendment, 
shall  be  enrolled  on  parchment,  and  deposited  in  the 
secretary's  office,  as  a  part  of  the  Constitution  and  funda 
mental  laws  of  this  commonwealth,  and  published  in  im 
mediate  connexion  therewith,  in  all  future  editions  of 
the  laws  of  this  commonwealth,  printed  by  public  autho 
rity.  And  in  order  that  the  said  amendments  may  be 
promulgated  and  made  known  to  the  people  of  this  com 
monwealth,  without  delay,  it  is  further 

Resolved,  That  his  excellency,  the  Governor,  be,  and 
he  hereby  is  authorized  and  requested  to  issue  his  procla 
mation,  reciting  the  articles  aforesaid ;  announcing  that 
the  same  have  been  duly  adopted  and  ratified  by  the  peo 
ple  of  this  commonwealth,  and  become  apart  of  the  Con 
stitution  thereof;  and  requiring  all  magistrates,  officers, 
civil  and  military,  and  all  the  citizens  of  this  common* 
wealth,  to  take  notice  thereof,  and  govern  themselves  ao 
cordingly," 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK.  57 

Now,  therefore,  I,  John  Brooks,  Governor  of  the 
commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  hy  virtue  of  the  au 
thority  to  me  given  by  the  resolution  last  above  written, 
do  issue  this  my  proclamation,  and  I  do  hereby  announce, 
that  the  several  articles  aforesaid  have  been  duly  ratified 
and  adopted  by  the  people  of  this  commonwealth,  and 
have  become  a  part  of  the  Constitution  thereof.  And  all 
magistrates,  officers,  civil  and  military,  and  ail  the 
citizens  of  the  commonwealth,  are  required  to  take 
notice  thereof,  and  govern  themselves  accordingly. 
Given  at  the  council  chamber,  in  Boston,  the  day  and 
year  first  above  written,  and  in  the  forty-fifth  year  of 
the  independence  of  the  United  States. 

JOrlN  BROOKS. 
By  his  Excellency,  the  Governor, 

ALDEN  BRADFORD,  Secretary, 
God  save  the  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  ! 


CONSTITUTION  OF   NEW  YORK. 
ARTICLE  1. 

SECTION  1.  No  member  of  this  State  shall  be  disfran 
chised,  or  deprived  of  any  of  the  rights  or  privileges  se 
cured  to  any  citizen  thereof,  unless  by  the  law  of  the 
land,  or  the  judgment  of  his  peers. 

2.  The  trial  by  Jury,  in  all  cases  in  which  it  has  been 
heretofore  used,  shall  remain  inviolate  forever.     But  a 
jury  trial  may  be  waived  by  the  parties  in  all  civil  cases, 
in  the  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

3.  The  free  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  religious  pro 
fession  and  worship,  without  discrimination  or  preference, 
shall  forever  be  allowed  in  this  State  to  all  mankind;  and 
no  person  shall  be  rendered  incompetent  to  be  a  witness 
on  account  of  his  opinions  on  matters  of  religious  belief; 
but  the  liberty  of  conscience  hereby  secured  shall  not  be 
so  construed  as  to  excuse  acts  of  licentiousness,  or  jus 
tify  practices  inconsistent  with  the  peace  or  safety  of  this 
State. 


COXSIITUTIOX    OF    NEW    YORK. 

4.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall 
not  be  suspended,  unless  when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or 
invasion,  the  public  safety  may  require  its  suspension. 

5.  Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive 
fines  imposed,  nor  shall  cruel  and  unusual  punishments 
be  inflicted,  nor  shall  witnesses  be  unreasonably  detained. 

6.  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital  or 
otherwise  infamous  crime  (except  in  cases  of  impeach 
ment,  and  in  cases  of  the  militia,  when  in  actual  service; 
and  the  land  and  naval  forces  in  lime  of  war,  or  which 
this   State  may  keep  with  the  consent  of  Congress  in 
time  of  peace;  and  in  cases  of  petit  larceny,  under  the 
regulation  of  the  Legislature),  unless  on  presentment  or 
indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  and  in  any  trial  in  any  court 
whatever,  the  party  accused  shall  be  allowed  to  appear 
and  defend  in  person  and  with  counsel,  as  in  civil  actions. 
No  person  shall  be  subject  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy 
for  the  same  offence  ;  nor  shall  he  be  compelled  in  any 
criminal  case,  to  be  a  witness  against  himself;  nor  be 
deprived  of  life,  liberty  or  property  without  due  process 
of  law ;   nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public 
use  without  just  compensation. 

7.  When  private  property  shall  be  taken  for  any  pub 
lic  use,  the  compensation  to  be  made  therefor,  when  such 
compensation  is  not  made  by  the  State,  shall  be  ascer 
tained  by  a  jury,  or  by  not  less  than  three  commission 
ers  appointed  by  a  court  of  record,  as  shall  be   prescribed 
by  law.     Private  roads  may  be  opened  in  the  manner  to 
be  prescribed  by  law  ;  but  in  every  case  the  necessity  of 
the  road,  and  the  amount  of  all  damage  to  be  sustained 
by  the  opening  thereof,  shall  be  first  determined  by  a 
jury  of  freeholders,  and  such  amount,  together  with  the 
expenses  of  the  proceeding,  shall  be  paid  by  the  person 
to  be  benefitted. 

8.  Every  citizen  may  freely  speak,  write,  and  publish 
his  sentiments  on  all  subjects,  being  responsible  for  the 
abuse  of  that  right;  and  no  law  shall  be  passed  to  restrain 
or  abridge  the  liberty  of  speech,  or  of  the  press.     In  all 
criminal  prosecutions  or  indictments  for  libels,  the  truth 
may  be  given  in  evidence  to  the  jury  ;  and  if  it  shall  ap 
pear  to  the  jury,  that  the  matter  charged  as  libellous  is 
true,  and  was  published  with  goc'd  motives,  and  for  jus ti- 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK. 


59 


fiable  ends,  the  party  shall  be  acquitted  ;  and   the  jury 
shall  have  the  right  to  determine  the  law  and  the  fact. 

9.  The  assent  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  elected 
to  each  branch  of  the   Legislature,  shall  be  requisite  to 
every  bill  appropriating  the  public  moneys  or  property 
for  local  or  private  purposes. 

10.  No  law   shall  be  passed,  abridging  the  right  of 
the  people  peaceably  to  assemble  and  to  petition  the  gov 
ernment,  or  any  department  thereof,  nor  shall  any  divorce 
be  granted,  otherwise  than  by  due  judicial  proceedings,  nor 
shall  any  lottery  hereafter  be  authorized  or  any  sale   of 
lottery  tickets  allowed  within  this  State, 

11.  The  People  of  this  State,  in  their  right  of  sov 
ereignty,  are  deemed  to  posess  the  original  and  ultimate 
property  in  and  to  all  lands  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
State  ;  avid  all  lands  the  title  to  which  shall  fail,  from  a 
defect  of  heirs,  shall  revert,  or  escheat  to  the  people. 

12.  All  feudal  tenures  of  every  description,  with  all 
their  incidents,  are  declared  to  be  abolished,  saving  how 
ever,  all  rents  and  services  certain  which  at  any  time 
heretofore  have  been  lawfully  created  or  reserved. 

13.  All  lands  within  this  State  are  declared  to  be  allo 
dial,  so  that,  subject  only  to  the  liability  to  escheat,  the 
entire  and  absolute  property  is  vested  in  the  owners  ac 
cording  to  the  nature  of  their  respective  estates. 

14.  No  lease  or  grant  of  agricultural  land,  for  a  longer 
period  than  twelve  years,  hereafter  made,  in  which  shall 
be  reserved  any   rent  or  service  of  any  kind,  shall   be 
valid. 

15.  All  fines,  quarter  sales,    or  other  like  restraints 
upon  alienation  reserved  in  any  grant  of  land,  hereafter  to 
be  made,  shall  be  void. 

16.  No  purchase  or  contract  for  the  sale  of  lands  in 
this   State,   made  since  the  fourteenth  day  of  October, 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-five  ;  or  which 
may  hereafter  be  made,  of,  or  with  the  Indians,  shall  be 
valid,   unless   made  under  the  authority,  and  with  the 
consent  of  the  Legislature. 

17.  Such  parts  of  the  common  law,  and  of  the  nets  of 
the  Legislature  of  the  colony  of  New-York,  as  together 
did  form  the  law  of  the  said  colony,  on  the  nineteenth 
day  of  April,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy, 


60  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK. 

five,  and  the  resolutions  of  the  Congress  of  the  sa'd  col 
ony,  and  of  the  Convention  of  the  State  of  New-York, 
in  force  on  the  twentieth  day  of  April,  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  seventy-seven,  which  have  not  since 
expired,  or  been  repealed  or  altered  ;  and  such  acts  of 
the  Legislature  of  this  State  as  are  now  in  force,  shall 
be  and  continue  the  law  of  this  State,  subject  to  such 
alterations  as  the  Legislature  shall  make  concerning  the 
same.  But  all  such  parts  of  the  common  law,  and  such 
of  the  said  acts,  or  parts  thereof,  as  are  repugnant  to 
this  Constitution,  are  hereby  abrogated ;  and  the  Legis 
lature,  at  its  first  session  after  the  adoption  of  this  Con 
stitution,  shall  appoint  three  commissioners,  whose  duty 
it  shall  be  to  reduce  into  a  written  and  systematic  code 
the  whole  body  of  the  law  of  this  State,  or  so  much  and 
such  parts  thereof  as  to  the  said  commissioners  shall 
seem  practicable  and  expedient.  And  the  said  commis 
sioners  shall  specify  such  alterations  and  amendments 
therein  as  they  shall  deem  proper,  and  they  shall  at  all 
times  make  reports  of  their  proceedings  to  the  Legis 
lature,  when  called  upon  to  do  so  ;  and  the  Legislature 
shall  pass  laws  regulating  the  tenure  of  office,  the  filling 
of  vacancies  therein,  and  the  compensation  of  the  said 
commissioners  ;  and  shall  also  provide  for  the  publication 
of  the  said  code,  prior  to  its  being  presented  to  the  Leg:s- 
islature  for  adoption. 

18.  All  grants  of  land  within  this  State,  made  by  the 
King  of  Great  Britain,  or  persons  acting  under  his  au 
thority,  after  the  fourteenth  day  of  October,  one  thou 
sand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-five,  shall  be  null  and 
void ;  but  nothing  contained  in  this  Constitution  shall 
affect  any  grants  of  land  within  this  State,  made  by  the 
authority  of  the  said  king  or  his  predecessors,  or  shall 
annul  any  charters  to  bodies  politic  and  corporate,  by 
him  or  them  made,  before  that  day  ;  or  shall  affect  any 
such  grants  or  charters  since  made  by  this  State,  or  by 
persons  acting  under  its  authority,  or  shall  impair  the 
obligation  of  any  debts  contracted  by  this  State,  or  in 
dividuals,  or  bodies  corporate,  or  any  other  rights  of 
property,  or  any  suits,  actions,  rights  of  action,  or  other 
proceedings  in  courts  of  justice. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK.  61 

ARTICLE  2. 

SECTION  1.  Every  male  citizen  of  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  who  shall  have  been  a  citizen  for  ten  days, 
and  an  inhabitant  of  this  State  one  year  next  preceding 
any  election,  and  for  the  la.-t  four  months  a  resident  of 
the  county  where  he  may  offer  his  vote,  shall  be  entitled 
to  vote  at  such  election  in  the  election  district  of  which 
he  shall  at  the  time  be  a  resident,  and  not  elsewhere,  for 
all  officers  that  now  are  or  hereafter  may  be  elective  by 
the  people  ;  but  such  citizen  shall  have  been  for  thirty 
days  next  preceding  the  election,  a  resident  of  the  dig 
trict  from  which  the  officer  is  to  be  chosen  for  whom  he 
offers  his  vote.  But  no  man  of  color,  unless  he  shall  have 
been  for  three  years  a  citizen  of  this  State,  and  for  one 
year  nexl  preceding  any  election  shall  have  been  seized 
and  possessed  of  a  freehold  estate  of  the  value  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  over  and  above  all  debts  and 
incumbrances  charged  thereon,  and  shall  have  been  actu 
ally  rated  and  paid  a  tax  thereon,  shall  be  entitled  *o 
vote  at  such  election.  And  no  person  of  color  shall  be 
subject  to  direct  taxation  unless  he  shall  be  seized  and 
possessed  of  such  real  estate  as  aforesaid. 

2.  Laws  may  be  passed  excluding  from  the  right  of 
suffrage  all  persons  who  have  been  or  may  be  convicted 
of  bribery,  of  larceny,  or  of  any  infamous  crime  ;  and  for 
depriving  every  person  who  shall  make,  or  become  di 
rectly  or  indirectly  interested   in   any  bet  or  wager  de 
pending  upon  the  result  of  any  election,  from  the  right 
to  vote  at  such  election. 

3.  For  the   purpose   of  voting,   no  person  shall   be 
deemed  to  have  gained  or  lost  a  residence,  by  reason  of 
his  presence  or  absence,  while  employed  in  the  service 
of  the  United  States  ;   nor  while  engaged  in  the  naviga 
tion  of  the  waters  of  this  State,  or  of  the  United  "States, 
or  of  the  high  seas  ;  nor  while  a  student  of  any  seminary 
of  learning ;  nor  while  kept  at  any  alms  house,  or  other 
asylum,  at  public  expense;    nor  while  confined  in  any 
public  prison. 

4.  Laws  shall  be  made   for  ascertaining  by   proper 
proofs  the  citizens  who  shall  be  entitled  to  the   right  of 
suffrage  hereby  established. 

6 


62  CONSTITUTION"    OF    NEW    YORK. 

5.  All  elections  by  the  citizens  shall  be  by  ballot,  ex 
cept  for  such  town  officers  as  may  by  law  'be  directed 
to  be  otherwise  chosen. 

ARTICLE  3. 

SECTION  1.  The  legislative  power  of  this  State  shall 
be  vested  in  a  Senate  and  Assembly. 

2.  The  Senate  shall  consist  of  thirty-two  members, 
and  the  Senators  shall  be  chosen  for  two  years. 

The  Assembly  shall  consist  of  one  hundred  and  twen 
ty-eight  members,  who  shall  be  annually  elected. 

3.  The  State  shall  be  divided  into  thirty-two  districts, 
to  be  called  Senate  districts,  each  of  which  shall  choose 
one  Senator.     The  districts  shall  be  numbered  from  one 
to  thirty-two  inclusive. 

District  number  one  (1)  shall  consist  of  the  counties  of 
Suffolk,  Richmond  and  Queens. 

District  number  two  (2)  shall  consist  of  the  county  of 
Kings. 

.""Districts  number  three  (3)  number  four  (4)  number 
five  (5)  and  number  six  (6)  shall  consist  of  the  city  and 
county  of  New-York;  and  the  board  of  supervisors  of 
said  city  and  county  shall,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of 
May  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-seven,  divide 
the  said  city  and  county  into  the  number  of  Senate  Dis 
tricts,  to  which  it  is  entitled,  as  near  as  may  be  of  an 
equal  number  of  inhabitants,  excluding  aliens  and  per 
sons  of  color  not  taxed,  and  consisting  of  convenient 
and  contiguous  territory;  and  no  Assembly  District  shall 
be  divided  in  the  formation  of  a  Senate  District.  The 
board  of  supervisors,  when  they  shall  have  completed 
such  division,  shall  cause  certificates  thereof,  stating  the 
number  and  boundaries  of  each  district  and  the  popula- 
'  tion  thereof,  to  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
State,  and  of  the  clerk  of  the  said  city  and  county. 

District  number  seven  (7)  shall  consist  of  the  counties 
of  Westchester,  Putnam  and  Rockland. 

District  number  eight  (8)  shall  consist  of  the  counties 
of  Dutchess  and  Columbia, 

District  number  nine  (9)  shall  consist  of  the  counties 
of  Orange  and  Sullivan. 

District  number  ten  (10)  shall  consist  of  the  counties- 
of  Ulster  and  Greene, 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK  63 

District  number  eleven  (11)  shall  consist  of  the  coun 
ties  of  Albany  and  Schenectady. 

District  number  twelve  (12)  shall  consist  of  the  coun 
ty  of  Rensselaer. 

District  number  thirteen  (13)  shall  consist  of  the  coun 
ties  of  Washington  and  Saratoga. 

District  number  fourteen  (14)  shall  consist  of  the 
counties  of  Warren,  Essex  and  Clinton. 

District  number  fifteen  (15)  shall  consist  of  the  coun 
ties  of  St.  Lawrence  and  Franklin. 

District  number  sixteen  (16)  shall  consist  of  the  coun 
ties  of  Herkimer,  Hamilton,  Fulton  and  Montgomery. 

District  number  seventeen  (17)  shall  consist  of  the 
counties  of  Schoharie  and  Delaware. 

District  number  eighteen  (18)  shall  consist  of  the 
counties  of  Otsego  and  Chenango. 

District  number  nineteen  (19)  shall  consist  of  the 
county  of  Oneida. 

District  number  twenty  (20)  shall  consist  of  the  coun 
ties  of  Madison  and  Osvvego. 

District  number  twenty-one  (21)  shall  consist  of  the 
counties  of  Jefferson  and  Lewis. 

District  number  twenty-two  (22)  shall  consist  of  the 
county  of  Onondaga. 

District  number  twenty-three  (23)  shall  consist  of  the 
counties  of  Cortland,  Broome  and  Tioga. 

District  number  twenty-four  (24)  shall  consist  of  the 
counties  of  Cayuga  and  Wayne. 

District  number  twenty-five  (25)  shall  consist,  of  the 
counties  of  Tomkins,  Seneca  and  Yates. 

District  number  twenty-six  (26)  shall  consist  of  the 
counties  of  Steuben  and  Chemung. 

District  number  twenty-seven  (27)  shall  consist  of  the 
county  of  Monroe. 

District  number  twenty-eight  (28)  shall  consist  of  the 
counties  of  Orleans,  Geneseeand  Niagara. 

District  number  twenty-nine  (29)  shall  consist  of  the 
counties  of  Ontario  and  Livingston. 

District  number  thirty  (30)  shall  consist  of  the  coun 
ties  of  Alleghany  and  Wyoming. 

District  number  thirty-one  (31)  shall  consist  of  the 
county  of  Erie. 


64  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    VTOKK. 

District  number  thirty-two  (32)  shall  consist  of  the 
counties  of  Chautauque  and  Cattaraugus. 

4.  An  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  State  shall 
be  taken,  under  the  direction  of  the  Legislature,  in   the 
year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and   fifty-five,  and  at 
the  end  of  every  ten  years  thereafter ;  and   the  said  dis 
tricts  shall  be  so  altered  by  the   Legislature,  at  the  first 
session  after  the  return  of  every  enumeration,  that  each 
Senate  district  shall  contain,   as  nearly  as   may  be,    an 
equal  number   of  inhabitants,  excluding  aliens,  and  per 
sons  of  color  not  taxed  ;    and  shall  remain  unaltered  un 
til   the  return  of  another  enumeration,  and   shall    at  all 
times  consist  of  contiguous  territory  ;     and  no  county 
shall  be   divided  in  the  formation   of  a  Senate  district, 
except  such  county  shall  be  equitably  entitled  to  two  or 
more  Senators. 

5.  The  members  of  Assembly  shall  be   apportioned 
among  the  several  counties  of  this  State,  by  the    Legis 
lature,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  according  to  the  number  of 
their  respective  inhabitants,  excluding  aliens,  and  persons 
of  color  not  taxed,  and  shall  be  chosen  by  single  districts. 

The  several  boards  of  supervisors  in  such  counties  of 
this  State,  as  are  now  entitled  to  more  than  one  member 
of  Assembly,  shall  assemble  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  Ja 
nuary  next,  and  divide  their  respective  counties  into 
Assembly  districts  equal  to  the  number  of  members  of 
Assembly  to  which  such  counties  are  now  severally  en 
titled  by  law,  and  shall  cause  to  be  filed  in  the  offices  of 
the  Secretary  of  State  and  the  clerks  of  their  respective 
counties,  a  description  of  such  Assembly  districts,  speci 
fying  the  number  of  each  district  and  the  population 
thereof,  according  to  the  last  preceding  State  enumeration, 
is  near  as  can  be  ascertained.  Each  Assembly  district 
shall  contain,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  an  equal  number  of  in 
habitants,  excluding  aliens  and  persons  of  color  not  taxed, 
and  shall  consist  of  convenient  and  contiguous  territory; 
but  no  town  shall  be  divided  in  the  formation  of  Assem 
bly  districts. 

The  Legislature,  at  its  first  session  after  the  return  of 
every  enumeration,  shall  re-apportion  the  members  of 
Assembly  among  the  several  counties  of  this  State,  in 
manner  aforesaid,  and  the  boards  of  supervisors  in  such 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK.  (55 

counties  as  may  be  entitled,  under  such  re-appointment, 
to  more  than  one  member,  shall  assemble  at  such  time  as 
the  Legislature  making  such  re-appointment  shall  pre 
scribe,  and  divide  such  counties  into  Assembly  districts, 
in  the  manner  herein  directed ;  and  the  appointment 
and  districts  so  to  be  made,  shall  remain  unaltered  until 
another  enumeration  shall  be  taken  under  the  provisions 
of  the  preceding  section. 

Every  county  heretofore  established  and  separately  or 
ganized,  except  the  county  of  Hamilton,  shall  always  be 
entitled  to  one  member  of  the  Assembly,  and  no  new 
county  shall  be  hereafter  erected,  unless  its  population 
shall  entitle  it  to  a  member. 

The  county  of  Hamilton  shall  elect  with  the  county  of 
Fulton,  until  the  population  of  the  county  of  Hamilton 
shall,  according  to  the  ratio,  be  entitled  to  a  member. 

6.  The  members  of  the  Legislature  sluill  receive   for 
their  services  a  sum  not  exceeding  three  dollars  a  day, 
from  the  commencement  of  the  session  ;  but  such  pay 
shall  not  exceed  in  the  aggregate  three   hundred  dollars 
for  per  diem  allowance,   except  in  proceedings  for  im 
peachment.     The  limitation  as  to  the  aggregate  compen 
sation  shall  not  take  effect  until  the   year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  forty-eight.     When  convened  in  extra 
session  by  the  Governor,  they  shall  receive  three  dollars 
per  day.     They  shall  also  receive  the  sum  of  one  dollar 
for  every  ten  miles  they  shall  travel,  in  going  to  and  re 
turning  from  their  place  of  meeting,  on  the   most  usual 
route.     The  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  shall,  in  virtue  of 
his  office,  receive  an   additional  compensation   equal   to 
one  third  of  his  per  diem  allowance  as  a  member. 

7.  No  member  of  the  Legislature   shall   receive   any 
civil  appointment  within  this  State,  or   to   the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  from  the  Governor,  the  Governor  and 
Senate,  or  from  the  Legislature,  during   the   term   for 
which  he  shall  have  been  elected  ;   and  all  such  appoint 
ments,  and  all  votes  given  for  any  such  member,  for  any 
such  office  or  appointment  shall  be  void. 

8.  No  person  being  a  member  of  Congress,  or  holJ- 
ing  any   judicial   or    military    office   under  the    United 
States,  shall  hold  a  seat  in  the  Legislature.     And  if  any 
person  shall,  after  his  election  as  a  member   of  the  Leg- 

6* 


66  CONSTITUTION     OF    NEW    YORK. 

islature,  be  elected  to  Congress,  or  appointed  to  any 
office,  civil  or  military,  under  the  government  of  the  Uni 
ted  States,  his  acceptance  thereof  shall  vacate  his  seat. 

9.  The  elections  of  Senators  and  members  of  Assem 
bly,  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  this  Constitution,  shall 
be  held  on  the  Tuesday  succeeding  the  first  Monday  of 
November,  unless  otherwise  directed  by  the  Legislature. 

10.  A     majority    of    each    house    shall    constitute    a 
quorum  to  do  business.     Each  house  shall  determine  the 
rules  of  its  own  proceedings,  and  be  the  judge  of  the 
elections,  returns,  and  qualifications  of  its  own  members, 
shall  choose  its  own  officers;  and  the  Senate  shall  choose 
a   temporary  president,  when  the   Lieutenant-Governor 
shall  not  attend  as  president,  or  shall  act  as  Governor. 

11.  Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal   of  its  proceed 
ings,  and  publish  the  same,  except  such  parts  as  may 
require  secrecy.     The  doors  of  each  house  shall  be  kept 
open,  except  when  the  public  welfare  shall  require  se 
crecy.     Neither  house  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the 
other,  adjourn  for  more  than  two  days. 

12  For  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  house  of  the 
Legislature,  the  members  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any 
other  place. 

13.  Any  bill   may   originate  in   either  house   of  the 
Legislature,  and  all  bills    passed  by  one  house  may  be 
amended  by  the  other. 

14.  The  enacting  clause  of  all  bills  shall  be  "  The 
people  of  the  State  of  New  York,  represented  in  Senate 
and  Assembly,  do  enact  as  follows,"  and  no  law  shall    be 
enacted  except  by  bill. 

J5.  No  bill  shall  be  passed  unless  by  the  assent  of  a 
majority  of  all  the  members  elected  to  each  branch  of  the 
Legislature,  and  the  question  upon  the  final  passage 
shaR  be  taken  immediately  upon  its  last  reading,  and  the 
yeas  and  nays  entered  on  the  journal. 

16.  No  private  or  local  bill,    which  may  be  passed  by 
the  Legislature,  shall  embrace  more  than  one  subject, 
and  that  shall  be  expressed  in  the  title. 

17.  The  Legislature  may  confer  upon  the  boards  of 
supervisors  of  the  several  counties  of  the  State,  such 
further  powers  of  local  legislation  and  administration,  as 
th^v  shall  from  time  to  time  prescribe. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  NEW  YORK.  67 

ARTICLE  4. 

SECTION  1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a 
Governor,  who  shall  hold  his  office  for  two  years  ;  a  Lieu 
tenant-Governor  shall  be  chosen  at  the  same  time,  and 
for  the  same  term. 

2.  No  person,  except  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  Governor,  nor  shall  any 
person  be  eligible  to  that  office,  who  shall  not  have  at 
tained  the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  who  shall  not  have 
been  five  years  next  preceding  his  election,  a  resident 
within  this  State. 

3.  The    Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor  shall   be 
elected  at  the  times  and  places  of  choosing  members  of  the 
Assembly.     The  persons  respectively  having  the  high 
est  number  of  votes  for   Governor  and  Lieutenant  Gov 
ernor  shall   be  elected  ;  but  in  case  two  or  more   shall 
have  an  equal  and  the  highest  number  of  votes  for  Gov 
ernor,  or  for  Lieutenant  Governor,  the  two  houses  of 
the  Legislature,  at  its  next  annual  session,  shall,  forth 
with,  by  joint  ballot,  choose  one  of  the  said  persons  so 
having  an  equal  and  the  highest  number  of  votes  for  Go- 
venor,  or  Lieutenant  Governor. 

4.  The  Governor  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the 
military  and  naval  forces  of  the  State.     He  shall  have 
power  to  convene  the  Legislature  (or  the  Senate  only) 
on  extraordinary  occasions.      He  shall  communicate  by 
message  to  the  Legislature,  at  every  session,  the  condi 
tion  of  the  State,  and  recommend  such  matters   to  them 
as  he  shall  judge  expedient.     He  shall  transact  nil  neces 
sary  business  with  the  officers  of  government,  civil  and 
military.     He  shall  expedite  all  such  measures,  as  may 
be  resolved  upon  by  the  Legislature,  and  shall  take  care 
that  the  laws  are  faithfully  executed.     He  shall,  at  stated 
times,  receive  for  his  services  a  compensation  to  be  esta 
blished  by  law,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  di- 
miniyhed  after  his  election  and  during  his  continuance  in 
office. 

5.  The  Governor  shall  have  the   power  to  grant  re 
prieves,  commutations,  and  pardons  after  conviction,  for 
all  offences  except  treason  and    cases  of  impeachment, 
upon  such  conditions,  and  with  such  restrictions  and  li- 


68  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK. 

notations,  as  he  may  think  proper,  subject  to  such  regu 
lation  as  may  be  provided  by  law  relative  to  the  manner 
of  applying  for  pardons.  Upon  conviction  for  treason, 
he  shall  have  power  to  suspend  the  execution  of  the  sen 
tence  until  the  case  shall  be  reported  to  the  Legislature 
at  its  next  meeting,  when  the  Legislature  shall  either 
pardon,  or  commute  the  sentence,  direct  the  execution  of 
the  sentence,  or  grant  a  further  reprieve.  He  shall  an 
nually  communicate  to  the  Legislature  each  case  of  re 
prieve,  commut  tion  or  pardon  granted  ;  stating  the  name 
of  the  convict,  the  crime  of  which  he  was  convicted,  the 
sentence  and  its  date,  and  the  date  of  the  commutation, 
pardon  or  reprieve. 

6.  In  case  of  the   impeachment  of  the  Governor,   or 
his  removal  from  office,  death,  inability  to  discharge  ths 
powers    and  duties    of  the  said   office,    resignation    or 
absence   from    the  State,  the  powers  and  duties  of  the 
office  shall  devolve    upon  the  Lieutenant-Governor  for 
the  residue  of  the  term,  or  until  the  disability  shall  cease. 
But  when  the   Governor  shall,  with   the  consent  of  the 
Legislature,  be  out  of  the  State   in  time   of  war,  at  the 
head  of  a  military  force  thereof,  he  shall   continue  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  all  the  military  force  of  the  State. 

7.  The  Lieutenant-Governor  shall  possess  the  same 
qualifications  of  eligibility  for  office  as  the  Governor. 
He  shall  be  President  of  the  Senate,  but  shall  only  have 
a  casting  vote  therein.     If  during  a  vacancy  of  the  office 
of  Governor,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  shall  be  impeach 
ed,  displaced,  resign,  die,  or  become   incapable  of  per 
forming  the   duties  of  his  office,  or  be  absent  from  the 
State,  the  President  of  the  Senate  shall  act  as  Gover 
nor,  until  the  vacancy  be  filled,    or  the  disability  shall 
cease. 

8.  The  Lieutenant-Governor   shall,   while  acting  as 
such,  receive  a  compensation  which  shall   be  fixed    by 
law,  and    which   shall  not  be   increased  or    diminished 
during  his  continuance  in  office. 

9.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  Senate  and 
Assembly,  shall,  before  it  becomes  a  law,  be   presented 
to  the  Governor:  if  he  approve,  he  shall  sign  it ;  but  if 
not,  he  shall  return   it  with  his  objections  to  that  house, 
in  which  it  shall  have  originated ;  who  shall  enter  the 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NFW    YORK.  69 

objections  at  large  on  their  journal  and  proceed  to  recon 
sider  it.  If  after  such  reconsideration,  two-thirds  of  the 
members  present  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be 
sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other  house,  by 
which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered  ;  and  if  approved 
by  two-thirds  of  all  the  members  present,  it  shall  become 
a  law,  notwithstanding  the  objections  of  the  Governor. 
But  in  all  such  cases,  the  votes  of  both  houses  shall  be 
determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the  mem 
bers  voting  for  and  against  the  bill,  shall  be  entered  on 
the  journal  of  each  house  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall 
not  be  returned  by  the  Governor  within  ten  d'ays  (Sun 
days  excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him, 
the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  sign 
ed  it,  unless  the  Legislature  shall,  by  their  adjournment, 
prevent  its  return  ;  in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

ARTICLE  5. 

SECTION  1.  The  Secretary  of  State,  Comptroller, 
Treasurer  and  Attorney-General,  shall  be  chosen  at  a 
genera!  election,  and  shall  hold  their  offices  for  two  years. 
Each  of  the  officers  in  this  article  named  (except  the 
Speaker  of  the  Assembly),  shall  at  stated  times,  during 
his  continuance  in  office,  receive  for  his  services,  a  com 
pensation,  which  shall  not  be  increased  or  diminished 
during  the  term  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected  ; 
nor  shall  he  receive,  to  his  use,  any  fees  or  perquisites 
of  office,  or  other  compensation. 

2.  A  State  Engineer  and  Surveyor  shall  be  chosen  at 
a  general   election,  and  shall   hold  his  office  two  years, 
but  no  person  shall  be  elected  to  said    office  who  is  not 
a  practical  engineer. 

3.  Three  Canal  Commissioners  shall   be  chosen   at 
the    general  election  which  shall   be  held  next  after  the 
adoption  of  this  Constitution,  one  of  whom  shall  hold  his 
office  for  one  year,  one  for  two  years,  and  one  for  three 
years.     The  Commissioners  of  the  Canal  Fund  shall 
meet  at  the  Capitol  on  the  first  Monday  of  January,  next 
after  such  election,  and  determine  by  lot  which  of  said 
Commissioners  shall  hold  his  office  for  one  year,  which 
for  two,  and  which  for  three  years  ;  and  there  shall  be 


70  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK. 

elected  annually,  thereafter,  one  Canal  Commissioner, 
who  shall  hold  his  office  for  three  years. 

4.  Three  Inspectors  of  State  Prisons,  shall  be  elected 
at  the  general  election  which  shall  be  held  next  after  the 
adoption  of  this  Constitution,  one  of  whom  shall  hold 
his  office  for  one  year,  one  for  two  years,  and  one  for 
three    years.     The  Governor,  Secretary  of  State,   and 
Comptroller,  shall  meet  at  the  Capitol  on  the  first  Mon 
day  of  January  next  succeeding  such  election,  and  deter 
mine  by  lot  which  of  said  Inspectors  shall  hold  his  office 
for  one  year,  which  for  two,  and  which  for  three  years  ; 
and  there  shall  be  elected  annually  thereafter  one  Inspec 
tor  of  State  Prisons,  who  shall  hold  his  office  for  three 
years.     Said  Inspectors  shall  have  the  charge  and  super 
intendence  of  the  State  prisons,  and  shall  appoint  all  the 
officers  therein.     All  vacancies  in  the  office  of  such  In 
spector  shall  be  filled  by  the  Governor,  till  the  next  elec 
tion. 

5.  The  Lieutenant  Governor,  Speaker  of  the  Assem 
bly,  Secretary  of  State,  Comptroller,  Treasurer,  Attor 
ney-General  and  State  Engineer  and  Surveyor,  shall  be 
the  Commissioners  of  the  Land-Office. 

The  Lieutenant-Governor,  Secretary  of  State,  Comp 
troller,  Treasurer,  and  Attorney-General,  shall  be  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Canal  Fund. 

The  Canal  Board  shall  consist  of  the  Commissioners 
of  the  Canal  Fund,  the  State  Engineer  and  Surveyor, 
and  the  Canal  Commissioners. 

6.  The  powers  and  duties  of  the  respective  boards, 
and    of   the    several  officers  in    this   Article  mentioned, 
shall  be  such  as  now  are  or  hereafter  may  be  prescribed 
by  law. 

7.  The  Treasurer  may  be  suspended  from  office  by 
the  Governor,  during  the  recess  of  the  Legislature,  and 
until  thirty  days  after  the  commencement  of  the  next  ses 
sion  of  the  Legislature,  whenever  it  shall  appear  to  him 
that  such  Treasurer  has,   in  any  particular,  violated   his 
duty.     The  Governor  shall  appoint  a  competent  person 
to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office,  during  such  suspen 
sion  of  the  Treasurer. 

8.  All  offices  for  the  weighing,  gauging  measuring, 
culling  or  inspecting  any  merchandize,  produce,  manu- 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK.  71 

facture  or  commodity,  whatever,  are  hereby  abolished, 
and  no  such  office  shall  hereafter  be  created  by  law  ;  but 
nothing  in  this  section  contained,  shall  abrogate  any 
office  created  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  public 
health  or  the  interests  of  the  State  in  its  property,  re 
venue,  tolls,  or  purchases,  or  of  supplying  the  people 
with  correct  standards  of  weights  and  measures,  or  shall 
prevent  the  creation  of  any  office  for  such  purpose  here 
after. 

ARTICLE  6. 

SECTION  1.  The  Assembly  shall  have  the  power  of 
impeachment,  by  the  vote  of  a  majority  of  all  the  mem 
bers  elected.  The  court  for  the  trial  of  impeachments, 
shall  be  composed  of  the  President  of  the  Senate,  the 
Senators,  or  a  major  part  of  them,  and  the  judges  of  the 
court  of  appeals,  or  a  major  part  of  them.  On  the  trial 
rf  an  impeachment  against  the  Governor,  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  shall  not  act  as  a  member  of  the  court.  No  ju 
dicial  officer  shall  exercise  his  office  after  he  shall  have 
been  impeached,  until  he  shall  have  been  acquitted.  Be 
fore  the  trial  of  an  impea'chment,  the  members  of  the 
court  shall  take  an  oath  or  affirmation,  truly  and  impar 
tially  to  try  the  impeachment,  according  to  evidence; 
and  no  person  shall  be  convicted,  without  the  concur 
rence  of  two- thirds  of  the  members  present.  Judg 
ment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further 
than  to  removal  from  office,  or  removal  from  office,  and 
disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor, 
trust  or  profit  under  this  State  ;  but  the  party  impeached 
shall  be  liable  to  indictment,  and  punishment  according 
to  law. 

2.  There  shall  be  a  Court  of  Appeals,  composed  of 
eight  judges,  of  whom  four  shall  be  elected  by  the  elec 
tors  of  the  State  for  eight  years,  and  four  selected  from 
the  class  of  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  having  the 
shortest  time  to  serve.  Provision  shall  be  made  by  law, 
for  designating  one  of  the  number  elected,  as  chief  judge, 
and  for  selecting  such  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
from  time  to  time,  and  for  so  classifying  those  elected, 
that  one  shall  be  elected  every  second  year. 


72  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK. 

3.  There  shall  be  a    Supreme  Court   having  general 
jurisdiction  in  law  and  equity. 

4.  The  State  shall  be   divided  into  eight  judicial  dis 
tricts,  of  which  the  city  of  New-York  shall  be  one  ;  the 
others  to  be  bounded  by  county  lines  and  to   be  compact 
and  equal  in    population  as  nearly  as  may  be.     There 
shall  be  four  .Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  each  dis 
trict,  and  as  many  more   in  the  district  composed  of  the 
city  of  New-York,  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  author 
ized  by  law,  but  not  to  exceed  in  the  whole  such  number 
in  proportion  to  its  population,  as  shall  be  in  conformity 
with  the  number  of  such  judges  in  the  residue  of  the 
State  in   proportion  to  its  population.     They  shall  be 
classified  so  that  one  of  the  justices  of  each  district  shall 
go  out  of  office  at  the  end  of  every  two  years.      After  the 
expiration  of  their  terms  under  such  classification,  the 
term  of  their  office  shall  be  eight  years. 

5.  The  Legislature  shall  have  the  same  powers  to  al 
ter  and  regulate  the  jurisdiction  and  proceedings  in  law 
and  equity,  as  they  have  heretofore  possessed. 

6.  Provision  may  be  made  by  law  for  designating  from 
time  to   time,  one  or  more  of  the  said  justices,  who  is 
not  a  judge   of  the  Court   oT  Appeals,    to    preside    at 
the  general  terms  of  the  said   Court  to  be  held    in  the 
several  districts.      Any  three  or  more  of  the  said  justices, 
of   whom  one  of  the  said  justices  so  designated   shall 
always  be  one,  may  hold  such  general  terms.     And  any 
one  or  more  of  the  justices  may  hold  special  terms  and 
circuit  courts,  and  any  one  of  them  may  preside  in  courts 
of  oyer  and  terminer  in  any  county. 

7.  The  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  and  justices  of 
the  Supreme  Court  shall  severally  receive  at  stated  times 
for  their  services,  a  compensation  to  be  established  by 
law,  which  shall  not  be  increased  or  diminished  during 
their  continuance  in  office. 

8.  They  shall  not  hold  any  other  office  or  public  trust 
All  votes  for  either  of  them,  for  any  elective  office  (ex 
cept  that  of  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  or  judge  of 
the  court  of  appeals),  given  by  the  Legislature  or  the 
people,  shall   be  void.     They   shall  not   exercise  any 
power  of  appointment  to  public  office.     Any  male  citi 
zen  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  of  good  moral  char- 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK.  73 

acter,  and  who  possesses  the  requisite  qualifications  of 
learning  and  ability,  shall  be  entitled  to  admission  to 
practice  in  all  the  courts  of  this  State. 

9.  The  classification  of  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court ;  the  times  and  place  of  holding  the  terms  of  the 
court  of  appeals,  and  of  the  general  and  special  terms  of 
the  Supreme  Court  within  the  several  districts,  and   the 
circuit  courts  and  courts  of  oyer  and  terminer  within  the 
several  counties,  shall  be  provided  for  by  law. 

10.  The  testimony  in  equity  cases  shall  Le  taken    in 
like  manner  as  in  cases  at  law. 

11.  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  judges  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  may   be  removed  by  concurrent  reso 
lution  of  both  houses  of  the  Legislature,  if  two-thirds  of 
all  the  members  elected  to  the  Assembly,  and  a  majority 
of  all  the  members  elected  to  the  Senate,  concur  therein. 

All  judicial  officers,  except  those  mentioned  in  this 
section,  and  except  justices  of  the  peace,  and  judges  and 
justices  of  inferior  courts  not  of  record  may  be  removed 
by  the  Senate,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Governor; 
but  no  removal  shall  be  made  by  virtue  of  this  section, 
unless  the  cause  thereof  be  entered  on  the  journals,  nor 
unless  the  party  complained  of,  shall  have  been  served 
with  a  copy  of  the  complaint  against  him,  and  shall  have 
had  an  opportunity  of  being  heard  in  his  defence.  On 
the  question  of  removal,  the  ayes  and  noes  shall  be  en 
tered  on  the  journals. 

12.  The  judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  shall  be  elected 
by  the  electors  of  the  State,  and  the  justices  of  the  Su 
preme  Court  by  the  electors  of  the  several  judicial  dis 
tricts,  at  such  times  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law. 

13.  In  case   the  office  of  any  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  or  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  shall  become 
vacant  before  the  expiration  of  the  regular  term  for  which 
he  was    elected,   the  vacancy  may  be  filled  by  appoint 
ment  by  the  Governor,  until  it  shall   be  supplied  at  the 
next  general  election  of  judges,  when  it  shall  be  filled  by 
election  for  the  residue  of  the  unexpired  term. 

14.  There  shall  be  elected  in  each  of  the  counties  of 
this  State,  except  the  city  and  county  of  New-York,  one 
county  judge,  who  shall  hold  his  office  for  four  years. 
He  shall  hold  the  county  court,  and  perform  the   duties 

7 


74  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK. 

of  the  office  of  surrogate.  The  county  court  shall  have 
such  jurisdiction  in  cases  arising  in  justices'  courts,  and 
in  special  cases,  as  the  Legislature  may  prescribe;  but 
shall  have  no  original  civil  jurisdiction,  except  in  such 
special  cases 

The  county  judge,  with  two  justices  of  the  peace,  to 
be  designated  according  to  law,  may  hold  courts  of  ses 
sions  with  such  criminal  jurisdiction  as  the  Legislature 
shall  prescribe,  and  perform  such  other  duties  as  may  be 
required  by  law. 

The  county  judge  shall  receive  an  annual  salary,  to  be 
fixed  by  the  board  of  supervisors,  which  shall  be  neither 
increased  nor  diminished  during  his  continuance  in  office. 

The  justices  of  the  peace,  for  services  in  courts  of  ses 
sions,  shall  be  paid  a  per  diem  allowance  out  of  the 
county  treasury. 

In  counties  having  a  population  exceeding  forty  thou 
sand,  the  Legislature  may  provide  for  the  election  of 
a  separate  officer  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  office  of 
surrogate. 

The  Legislature  may  confer  equity  jurisdiction  in  spe 
cial  cases  upon  the  county  judge. 

Inferior  local  courts,  of  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction, 
may  be  established  by  the  Legislature  in  cities  ;  and 
such  courts,  except  for  the  cities  of  New-York  and  Buf 
falo,  shall  have  an  uniform  organization  and  jurisdiction 
in  such  cities. 

15.  The  Legislature  may,  on  application  of  the  board 
of  supervisors,   provide   for  the    election   of  local    offi 
cers,  not  to  exceed  two  in  any  county,  to  discharge  the 
duties    of  county  judge    and  of  surrogate,  in  cases  of 
their  inability  or  a  vacancy,  and  to  exercise  such  other 
powers  in  special  cases  as  may  be  provided  by  law. 

16.  The  Legislature  may  reorganize  the  judicial  dis 
tricts  at  the  first  session  after  the  return  of  every  enume 
ration  under  this   constitution,  in  the  manner  provided 
for  in  the   fourth  section  of  this  article,  and  at  no  other 
time  ;  and  they  may,  at  such  session,  increase  or  dimin 
ish  the  number  of  districts,  but  such  increase  or  diminu 
tion  shall  not  be  more  than  one  district  at  any  one  time. 
Each   district  shall  have   four  justices  of  the  Supreme 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK.  75 

Court ;  but  no  diminution  of  the  districts  shall  have  the 
effect  to  remove  a  judge  from  office. 

17.  The  electors  of  the  several  towns,  shall,  at  their 
annual  town  meeting,  and  in  such  manner  as  the  Legis 
lature  may  direct,  elect  justices    of  the  peace,   whose 
term  of  office  shall  be  four  years.     In  case  of  an  elec 
tion  to  fill  a  vacancy  occurring  before  the  expiration  of  a 
full  term,   they  shall  hold  for  the  residue  of  the  unex- 
pired  term.     Their  number  and  classification  may  be  re 
gulated  by  law.     Justices  of  the  peace   and  judges  or 
justices  of  inferior  courts  not  of  record  and  their  clerks 
may  be  removed  after  due  notice  and  an  opportunity  of 
being  heard  in  their  defence  by  such  county,  city  or  state 
courts  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law,  for  causes  to  be  as 
signed  in  the  order  of  removal. 

18.  All  judicial  officers  of  the  cities  and  villages,  and 
all  such  judicial  officers  as  may  be  created  therein  by  law, 
shall  be  elected  at  such  times  and  in  such  manner  as  the 
Legislature  may  direct. 

19.  Clerks  of  the  several  counties  of  this  State  shall 
be  clerks  of  the  Supreme  Court,  with  such  powers  and 
duties  as  shall  be   prescribed  by  law.      A  clerk  for  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  to  be  ex-officio  clerk  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  to  keep  his  office  at  the  seat  of  government, 
shall  be  chosen  by  the  electors    of  the  State  ;  he  shall 
hold    his  office  for  three  years,  and  his  compensation 
shall  be  fixed  by  law  and  paid  out  of  the  public  Trea 
sury. 

20.  No  judicial  officer,  except  justices  of  the  peace, 
shall  receive  to  his  own  use,  any  fees  or  perquisites  of 
office.   .- 

21.  The  Legislature  may  authorize  the  judgments, 
decrees   and  decisions  of  any  local  inferior  court  of  re 
cord  of  original  civil  jurisdiction,  established  in  a  city, 
to  be  removed  for  review  directly  into  the  Court  of  Ap 
peals. 

22.  The    Legislature  shall  provide  for   the  speedy 
publication    of  all    statute    laws,    and    of  such  judicial 
decisions    as  it  may    deem    expedient.      And    all  laws 
and  judicial  decisions  shall  be  free  for  publication  by  any 
person. 

23.  Tribunals    of  conciliation   may    be   established, 


78  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK. 

with  such  powers  and  duties  as  may  be  prescribed  by 
law,  but  such  tribunals  shall  have  no  power  to  render 
judgment  to  be  obligatory  on  the  parties,  except  they 
voluntarily  submit  their  matters  in  difference  and  agree 
to  abide  the  judgment,  or  assent  thereto,  in  the  presence 
of  such  tribunal,  in  such  cases  as  shall  be  prescribed  by 
law. 

24.  The  Legislature  at  its  first  session  after  the  adop 
tion  of  this  Constitution,  shall  provide  for  the  appoint 
ment  of  three  commissioners,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to 
revise,  reform,  simplify  and  abridge  the  rules  and  prac 
tice,  pleadings,  forms  and  proceedings  of  the  courts  cf 
record  of  this  State,  and  to   report  thereon  to  the  Legis 
lature,  subject  to  their  adoption  and  modification  from 
time  to  time 

25.  The  Legislature  at   its  first  session  after  the  adop 
tion  of  this  Constitution,  shall  provide  for  the  organiza 
tion  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  for  transferring  to  it 
the  business  pending  in  the  Court  for  the  Correction  of 
Errors,  and  for  the  allowance  of  writs  of  error  and  ap 
peals  to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  from  the  judgments  and 
decrees  of  the.  present  Court  of  Chancery  and  Supreme 
Court,  and  of  the  courts  that  may  be  organized  under  this 
Constitution. 

ARTICLE  7. 

SECTION  1.  After  paying  the  expenses  of  collection, 
superintendance  and  ordinary  repairs,  there  shall  be  ap 
propriated  and  set  apart  in  each  fiscal  year,  out  of  the 
revenues  of  the  State  canals,  commencing  on  the  first 
day  of  June,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-six, 
the  sum  of  one  million  and  three  hundred  thousand  dol 
lars  until  the  first  day  of  June,  one  thousand  eight  hun 
dred  and  fifty-five,  and  from  that  time  the  sum  of  one 
million  and  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  each  fiscal 
year,  as  a  sinking  fund,  to  pay  the  interest  and  redeem 
the  principal  of  that  part  of  the  State  debt  called  the 
canal  debt,  as  it  existed  at  the  time  first  aforesaid,  and 
including  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  then  to  be  bor 
rowed,  until  the  same  shall  be  wholly  paid ;  and  the 
principal  and  income  of  the  said  sinking  fund  shall  be 
sacredly  applied  to  that  purpose. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK.  77 

2.  A-fter  complying  with  the  provisions  of  the  first 
section  of  this  article,    there  shall  be  appropriated  and 
set  apart  out  of  the  surplus  revenues  of  the  State  canals, 
in  each  fiscal  year,  commencing  on  the  first  day  of  June, 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and    forty-six,  the  sum  of 
three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  until  the    time 
when  u  sufficient  sum  shall  have  been  appropriated  and 
set  apart,  under  the  said  first  section,  to  pay  the  interest 
and  extinguish  the  entire  principal  of  the  canal  debt;  and 
after  that  period,   then  the  sum  of  one  million  and  five  hun 
dred  thousand  dollars  in  each  fiscal   year,    as    a  sinking 
fund,  to  pay  the  interest  and  redeem  the  principal  of  that 
p  trt   of  the  State   debt  called  the  General  Fund   Debt, 
including  the  debt  for  loans  of   the   State  credit  to    rail 
load  companies  which   have    failed    to  pay  the  interest 
there  n,  arid  also  the  contingent  debt  on  State  stocks 
loaned  to  incorporated  companies   which  have  hitherto 
paid  tho  interest  thereon,    whenever  and  as  far  as  any 
part  thereof  may   become  a  charge  on  the  Treasury  or 
General   Fund,   until    the    same  shall  be  wholly   paid; 
and  the  principal  and  income  of  the  said  last  mentioned 
sinking  fund  shall  be    sacredly  applied  to  the  purpose 
aforesaid;  and  if  '.he  payment  of  any  part  of  the  moneys 
to  the  said  sinking  fund  shall  at  any  time  be   defeired, 
by  reason  of  the  priority  recognized  in  the  first  section 
of  this  article,  the   sum  so t deferred,   with   quarteily  in 
terest  thereon,  at   the  then  current  rate,  shall  be  paid  to 
the  last  mentioned  sinking  fund,  as  soon  as  it  can    be 
done   consistently   with  the  just  rights   of  the  creditors 
holding  said  cana4  debt. 

3.  After  paying  the  said  expenses  of  superintendance 
and  repa:rs  of  the  canals,  and  the  sums  appropriated  by 
the  first  and  second   sections  of  this  Article,  there  shall 
b^  paid  out  of  the  surplus  revenues  of  the  canals,  to  the 
Treasury  of  the  State,  on  or  before  the  thirtieth  day  of 
September,  in  each  year,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the 
General  Fund,  such  sum,  not  exceeding  two  hundre-j 
thousand   dollars,  as  may  be  required  to  defray  the   ne 
cessary  expenses  of  the  State  ;  and  the  remainder  of 
the  revenues  of  the  said  canals  shall,  in  each  fiscal  year, 
be    applied,  in  such  manner  as  the   Legislature    shall 
direct,  to  the  completion  of  the  Erie  Canal  enlargement, 


78  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK. 

and  the  Genesee  Valley  and  Black  River  canals,  until 
the  said  canals  shall  be  completed. 

•If  at  any  time  after  the  period  of  eight  years  from  the 
adoption  of  this  Constitution,  the  revenues  of  the  State, 
unappropriated  by  this  article,  shall  not  be  sufficient  to 
defray  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  government,  with 
out  continuing  or  laying  a  direct  tax,  the  Legislature 
may,  at  its  discretion,  supply  the  deficiency,  in  whole  or 
in  part,  from  the  surplus  revenues  of  the  canals,  alter 
complying  with  the  provisions  of  the  first  two  sections 
of  this  article,  for  paying  the  interest  and  extinguishing 
the  principal  of  the  Canal  and  General  Fund  Debt ;  but 
the  sum  thus  appropriated  from  the  surplus  revenues  of 
the  canals  shall  not  exceed  annually  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  including  the  sum  of  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  provided  for  by  this  section  for  the  ex 
penses  of  the  government,  until  the  General  Fund  Debt 
shall  be  extinguished,  or  until  the  Erie  Canal  enlargement 
and  Genesee  Valley  and  Black  River  Canals  shall  be  com 
pleted,  and  after  that  debt  shall  be  paid,  or  the  said 
canals  shall  be  completed,  then  the  sum  of  six  hundred 
and  seventy-two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  or 
so  much  thereof  as  shall  be  necessary,  may  be  annually 
appropriated  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  government. 

4.  The  claims  of  the  State  against  any    incorporated 
company  to  pay  the    interest   and  redeem  the   principal 
of  the  stock  of  the  State  loaned  or  advanced  to  such  com 
pany,    shall    be    fairly    enforced,    and   not    released   or 
compromised  ;  and  the  moneys  arising  from  such  claims 
shall  be  set  apart  and    applied  as   part  of  the   sinking 
fund  provided  in  the  second  section  of  this  article.     But 
the  time  limited  for  the  fulfilment  of  any  condition  of 
any  release  or  compromise  heretofore  made  or  provided 
for,  may  be  extended  by  law. 

5.  If  the  sinking  funds,  or  either  of  them,  provided  in 
this  article,  shall  prove  insufficient  to  enable  the   State, 
on  the  credit  of  such  fund,  to  procure  the  means  to  satisfy 
the  claims  of  the  creditors  of  the  State  as  they  become 
payable,  the  Legislature   shall,  by  equitable  taxes,   so 
increase  the  revenues  of  the  said  funds  as  to  make  them, 
respectively,  sufficient  perfectly  to  preserve  the  public 
faith.     Every  contribution  or  advance   to  the  canals,  or 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK.  79 

their  debt,  from  any  source,  other  than  their  direct  re 
venues,  shall,  with  quarterly  interest,  at  the  rates  then 
c  irrent,  be  repaid  into  the  Treasury,  for  the  use  of  the 
State,  out  of  the  canal  revenues,  as  soon  as  itcan  be  done 
consistently  with  the  just  rights  of  the  creditors  holding 
the  said  canal  debt. 

6.  The  Legislature  shall  not  sell,  lease,  or  otherwise 
dispose  of  any  of  the  canals  of  the  State  ;   but  they  shall 
remain  the  property  of  the  State  and  under  its  manage 
ment,  forever. 

7.  The  Legislature  shall  never  sell  or  dispose  of  the 
salt  springs  belonging  to  this  State.     The  lands  conti 
guous  thereto  and  which  may  be  necessary  and  conveni 
ent  for  the  use   of  the  salt  springs,   may    be  sold    by 
authority  of  law   and   under  the  direction  of  the   com 
missioners  of  the  land  office,  for  the  pin  pose  of  investing 
the  moneys  arising  therefrom  in  other  lands  alike  conve 
nient;  but  by    such    sale  and   purchase   the  aggregate 
quantity  of  these  lands  shall  not  be  diminished. 

8.  No  moneys  shall  ever  be  paid  out  of  the  Treasury 
of  this  State,  or  any  of  its  funds,  or    any   of   the  funds 
under  its  management,  except  in  pursuance  of  an  appro 
priation  by    law  ;    nor   unless  such  payment   be  made 
within  two  years  next   after  the  passage  of  such  appro 
priation  act;  and  every  such  law,  making  anew  appro 
priation,  or  continuing   or     reviving  an    appropriation, 
shall  distinctly  specify  the  sum  appropriated,  and  the  ob 
ject  to  which  it  is  to  be  applied  ;  and  it  shall  notbe  sufficient 
for  such  law  to  refer  to  any  other  law  to  fix  such  sum. 

9.  The  credit  of  the  State  shall  not,  in  any  manner, 
be   given    or    loaned   to,  or  in  aid  of  any    individual  as 
sociation  or  corporation. 

10.  The  State  may,  to  meet  casual  deficits  or  failures 
in  revenues,  or  for  expenses  not  provided  for,  contract 
debts,  but  such  debts,  direct  and  contingent,  singly  or  in 
the   aggregate,  shall  not  at  any  time,  exceed  one  million 
of  dollars  ;  and  the  moneys  arising  from  the  loans  cre 
ating   suc'h  debts,  shall  be  applied  to  the  purpose  for 
which  they  were  obtained,  or  to  repay  the  debts  so  con 
tracted,  and  to  no  other  purpose  whatever. 

11.  In  addition  to  the  above  limited  power  to  contract 
debts,  the  State  may  contract  debts  to   repel  invasion, 


80  CONSTITUTION'    OF    XKVV    YORK. 

suppress  insurrection,  or  defend  the  State  in  war;  but 
the  money  arising  from  the  contracting  of  such  debts 
shall  be  applied  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  raised, 
or  to  repay  such  debts,  and  to  no  other  purpose  what 
ever. 

12.  Except  the  debts  specified  in  the  tenth  and 
eleventh  sections  of  this  article,  no  debt  shall  be  here 
after  contracted  by  or  on  behalf  of  this  State,  unless  such 
debt  shall  be  authorized  by  a  law,  for  some  single  work 
or  object,  to  be  distinctly  specified  therein  ;  and  such 
law  shall  impose  and  provide  for  the  collection  of  a  di 
rect  annual  tax  to  pay,  and  sufficient  to  pay  the  interest 
on  such  debt  as  it  falls  due,  and  also  to  pay  and  discharge 
the  principal  of  such  debt  within  eighteen  years  from 
the  time  of  the  contracting  thereof. 

No  such  law  shall  take  effect  until  it  shall,  at  a  general 
election,  have  been  submitted  to  the  people,  and  have 
received  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  for  and  against 
it,  at  such  election. 

On  the  final  passage  of  such  bill  in  either  house  of 
the  Legislature,  the  question  shall  be  taken  by  ayes  and 
noes,  to  be  duly  entered  on  the  journals  thereof,  and  sh  Jl 
be:  "Shall  this  bill  pass  and  ought  the  same  to  receive 
the  sanction  of  the  people  ?" 

The  Legislature  may  at  any  time,  after  the  approval  of 
such  law  by  the  people,  if  no  debt  shall  have  been  con 
tracted  in  pursuance  thereof,  repeal  the  same  ;  and  may 
at  any  time,  by  law,  forbid  the  contracting  of  any 
further  debtor  liability  under  such  law  ;  but  the  tax  im 
posed  by  such  act,  in  proportion  to  the  debt  and  liability 
which  nny  have  been  contracted,  in  pursuance  of  such 
law,  shall  remain  in  force  and  be  irrepealable,  and  be 
annually  collected,  until  the  proceeds  thereof  shall 
have  made  the  provision  herein  before  specified  to  pay 
and  discharge  the  interest  and  principal  of  such  debt  and 
liability. 

The  money  arising  from  any  loan  or  stock  creating 
such  debt  or  liability,  shall  be  applied  to  the  work  or 
object  specified  ia  the  act  authorizing  such  debt  or  liabi 
lity,  or  for  the  repayment  of  such  debt  or  liability,  and 
for  no  other  purpose  whatever. 

No  such  law  shall  be  submitted  to  be  voted  on,  within 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK.  81 

three  months  after  its  passage,  or  at  any  general  election, 
when  any  other  law,  or  any  bill,  or  any  amendment  to 
the  Constitution,  shall  be  submitted  to  be  voted  for  or 
against. 

13.  Every  law  which  imposes,  continues  or  revives  a 
tax,  shall  distinctly  state  the  tax  and  the  object  to  which 
it  is  to  be  applied  ;  and  it  shall  not  be  sufficient  to  refer 
to  any  other  law  to  fix  such  tax  or  object. 

14.  On  the  final  passage,  in  either  house  of  the  Legis 
lature,  of  every  act  which  imposes,  continues,  or  revives 
si  tax,   or  creates  a  debt  or  charge,  or  makes,  continues 
or  revives  any  appropriation  of  public  or  trust  money  or 
property,    or    releases,   discharges,     or  commutes    any 
claim  or  demand  of  the  state,  the  question  shall  be  taken 
by  ayes  and  noes,    which  shall  be    duly  entered  on    the 
journals,    and  three-fifths  of  all  the  members  elected   to 
either   house,  shall,  in  all  such  cases,  be  necessary  to 
constitute  a  quorum  therein. 

ARTICLE  8. 

SECTION  1.  CorporatiDns  may  be  formed  under  gen 
eral  laws;  but  shall  not  be  created  by  special  act,  except 
for  municipal  purposes,  and  in  cases  where  in  the  judg 
ment  of  the  Legislature,  the  objects  of  the  corporation 
cannot  be  attained  under  general  laws.  All  general  laws 
and  special  acts  passed  pursuant  to  this  section,  may  be 
altered  from  time  to  time  or  repealed. 

2.  Dues     from    corporations    shall    be     secured    by 
such   individual   liability  of  the  corporators    and    other 
means  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law. 

3.  The  term  corporations  as  used  in  this  article,  shall 
be  construed   to  include  all  associations   and  joint-stock 
companies  having  any  of  the  powers  or  privileges  of  cor 
porations  not  possessed  by  individuals  or  partnerships. 
And  all  corporations  shall  have  the  right  to  sue  and  shall 
be  subject  to  be  sued  in  all  courts  in  like  cases  as  natural 
persons. 

4.  The  Legislature  shall  have  no  power  to  pass   any 
act  granting  any  special  charter  for  banking  purposes  ; 
but  corporations  or  associa'ions  may  be  formed  for  such 
purposes  under  general  laws. 


82  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK. 

5.  The  Legislature  shall  have  no  power  to  pass  any 
law  sanctioning  in  any  manner,  directly  or  indirectly, 
the  suspension  of  specie  payments,  by  any  person,  asso 
ciation  or  corporation  issuing  bank  notes  of  any  descrip 
tion. 

G.  The  Legislature  shall  provide  by  law  for  the  regis 
try  of  all  bills  or  notes,  issued  or  put  in  circulation  as 
money,  and  shall  require  ample  security  for  the  redemp 
tion  of  the  same  in  specie. 

7.  The  stockholders  in  every  corporation  and  joint- 
stock   association   for  banking   purposes,   issuing  bank 
notes  or  any  kind  of  paper  credits  to  circulate  as  money, 
after  the  first  day  of  January,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  fifty,  shall  be  individually  responsible  to  the  amount 
of  their  respective  share  or  shares  of  stock  in  any  si«oh 
corporation  or  association,  for  all  its  debts  and  liabilities 
of  every  kind,  contracted  after  the  said  first  day  of   Ja 
nuary,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty. 

8.  In  case  of  the  insolvency  of  any  bank  or  banking 
association,  the  bill-holders  thereof  shall  be  entitled  to 
preference  in  payment,  over  all  other  creditors  of  such 
bank  or  association. 

9.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Legislature  to  provide  for 
the  organization  of  cities  and  incorporated   villages,  and 
to  restrict  their  power  of  taxation,  assessment,  borrowing 
money,  contracting  debts  and  loaning  their  credit,  so  as 
to  prevent  abuses  in  assessments,  and  in  contracting  debt 
by  such  municipal  corporations. 

ARTICLE  9 

SECTION  1.  The  capital  of  the  Common  School  Fund; 
the  capital  of  the  Literature  Fund;  and  the  capital  of  the 
United  States  Deposite  Fund,  shall  be  respectively 
preserved  inviolate.  The  revenue  of  the  said  Common 
School  Fund  shall  be  applied  to  the  support  of  common 
schools;  the  revenues  of  the  said  Literature  Fund  shall 
be  applied  to  the  support  of  academies,  and  the  sum  of 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  of  the  revenues  of  the  United 
States  Deposite  Fund  shall  each  year  be  appropriated  to 
and  made  a  part  of  the  capital  of  the  said  Common  School 
Fund. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NKW    YOKK.  83 

ARTICLE  10. 

SECTION  1.  Sheriffs,  clerks  of  counties,  includ'n?  the 
register  and  clerk  of  the  city  and  county  of  New- York, 
coroners,  and  district  attorneys,  shall  be  chosen,  by  the 
electors  of  the  respective  counties,  once  in  every  three 
years  and  as-often  as  vacancies  shall  happen.  Sheriffs 
shall  hold  no  other  office,  and  be  ineligible  for  the  next 
three  years  after  the  termination  of  their  offices.  They 
may  be  required  by  law,  to  renew  their  security,  from 
lime  to  time  ;  and  in  default  of  giving  such  new  secu 
rity,  their  offices  shall  be  deemed  vacant.  But  the 
county  shall  never  be  made  responsible  for  the  acts  of 
the  sheriff*. 

The  Governor  may  remove  any  officer,  in  this  section 
mentioned,  within  the  term  for  which  he  shall  have  been 
elected;  giving  to  such  officer  a  copy  of  the  charges 
against  him,  and  an  opportunity  of  being  heard  in  his  de 
fence. 

2.  All  county  officers  whose  election  or  appointment 
is  not  provided  for,  by  this  Constitution,  shall  be  elected 
by  the  electors  of  the  respective  counties,   or  appointed 
by  the  boards  of  supervisors,  or  other  county  authori 
ties,  as  the  Legislature  shall  direct.     All  city,  town  and 
village   officers,    whose  election  or  appointment   is  not 
provided  for  by  this  Constitution,  shall  be  elected  by 
the  electors  of  such  cities,  towns  and  villages,  or  of  some 
division  thereof,  or  appointed  by  such  authorities  thereof, 
as  the  Legislature  shall  designate  for  that  purpose.      All 
other  officers  whose  election  or  appointment  is  not  pro 
vided  for  by  this  Constitution,  and  all  officers    whose 
offices  may  hereafter  be  created  by  law,  shall  be  elected 
by  the   people   or   appointed,    as   the    Legislature  may 
direct. 

3.  When  the  duration  of  any  office,  is  not  provided  by 
this  Constitution,  it  may  be  declared  bylaw,  and  if  not 
so  declared,  such  office  shall  be  held,  during  the  pleasure 
of  the  authority  making  the  appointment. 

4.  The  time  of  electing  all  officers  named  in  this  arti 
cle  shall  be  prescribed  by  law. 

5.  The  Legislature  shall  provide  for  filling  vacancies 
in  office,  and  in  case  of  elective  officers,  no  person  ap 
pointed   to  fill  a  vacancy  shall  hold  his  office  by  virtue 


84  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK. 

of  such  appointment  longer  than  the  commencement  of 
the  political  year  next  succeeding  the  first  annual  election 
after  the  happening  of  the  vacancy. 

6.  The  political  year  and  legislative  term,  shall  begin 
on  the  first  day  of  January  ;  and  the   Legislature  shall 
every   year  assemble  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  January, 
unless  a  different,  clay  shall  be  appointed  by  law. 

7.  Provisions  shall  be  made  by  law  for   the  removal 
for  misconduct  or  malversation  in    office  of  all   officers 
(except  judicial)   whose  powers  and  duties  are  not  local 
orlegislative,  and  who  shall  be  elected  at  general  elections, 
and  also   for  supplying  vacancies  created  by  such  re 
moval. 

8.  The  Legislature  may  declare  the  cases  in   which 
any  office  shall  be  deemed  vacant,  where  no  provision  is 
made  for  that  purpose  in  this  Constitution. 

ARTICLE    11. 

SECTION  1.  The  militia  of  this  State,  shall  at  all  times 
hereafter,  be  armed  and  disciplined,  and  in  readiness  for 
service  ;  but  all  such  inhabitants  of  this  State  of  any  re 
ligious  denomination  whatever  as  from  scruples  of  con 
science  may  be  averse  to  bearing  arms,  shall  be  excused 
theref.om,  upon  such  conditions  as  shall  be  prescribed  by 
law. 

2.  Militia  officers  shall  be  chosen,  or  appointed,  as 
follows: — captains,    subalterns    and    non-commissioned 
officers  shall  be  chosen  by  the  written  votes  of  the  mem 
bers  of  their  respective  companies.     Field    officers  of 
regiments  and  separate  battalions,  by   the  written  votes 
of  the  commissioned  officers  of  the  respective  regiments 
and  separate  battalions;  brigadier-generals  and    brigade 
inspectors    by  the  field  officers  of  their  respective  bri 
gades  ;  major  generals,  brigadier  generals  and  command 
ing  officers    of  regiments   or   separate   battalions,  shall 
appoint   the   staff  officers  to  their  respective  divisions, 
brigades,  regiments  or  separate  battalions. 

3.  Th?  Governor  shall  nominate,  and  with  the  consent 
of  the  Senate,  appoint  all  major  generals,  and  the  com 
missary  general.     The  adjutant  general  and  other  chiefs 
of  staff  departments,  and  the  aids-de-camp  of  the  com 
mander  in-chief  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Governor,  and 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK.  85 

their  commissions  shall  expire  with  the  time  for  which 
the  Governor  shall  have  been  elected.  The  commis 
sary  general  shall  hold  his  office  for  two  years.  HQ 
shall  give  security  for  the  faithful  execution  of  the  duties 
of  his  office,  in  such  manner  and  amount  as  shall  be 
prescribed  by  law. 

4.  The  Legislature  shall,  by  law,  direct  the  time  and 
manner    of  electing   militia  officers,   and   of  certifying 
their  elections  to  the  Governor. 

5.  The  commissioned  officers  of  the  militia  shall  be 
commissioned  by  the  Governor;  and  no  commissioned 
officer  shall  be  removed  from  office,  unless  by  the  Senate 
on  the    recommendation  of  the  Governor,  staling  the 
grounds  on  which  such  removal  is  recommended,  or  by 
the  decision  of  a  court  martial,  pursuant  to  law.     Tho 
present  officers  of  the  miliiia  shall  hold  their  commissions 
subject  to  removal,  as  before  provided. 

6.  In  case  the   mode  of  election  and  appointment  of 
militia  officers  hereby  directed,  shall   not  be  found  con 
ducive  to  the  improvement  of  the  militia,  the  Legislature 
may  abolish    the  same,  and  provide  by  law  for  their  ap 
pointment  and   removal,  if  two -thirds  of  the  members 
present  in  each  house  shall  concur  therein. 

ARTICLE  12. 

SECTION  1.  Members  of  the  Legislature  and  all  offi 
cers,  executive  and  judicial,  except  such  inferior  officers 
as  may  be  by  law  exempted,  shall,  before  they  enter  on 
the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  take  and  subscribe 
the  following  oath  or  affirmation  : 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm,  as  the  case  may  be) 
that  I  will  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  State*, 
and  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  New-York  ;  and  that 
I  will  faithfully  discharge  the  dut'es  of  the  office  of 
according  to  the  best  of  my  ability." 

And  no  other  oath,  declaration,  or  test  shall  be  required 
as  a  qualification  for  any  office  or  public  trust. 

8 


&6  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK. 

ARTICLE   13. 

SECTION  1.  Any  amendment  or  amendments  to  this 
Constitution  may  be  proposed  in  the  Senate  and  Assem- 
bly ;  and  if  the  same  shall  he  agreed  to  hy  a  majority  of 
the  members  elected  to  each  of  the  two  houses,  such 
proposed  amendment  or  amendments  shall  be  entered  on 
their  journals  with  the  yea*  and  nays  taken  thereon,  and 
referred  to  the  Legislature,  to  be  chosen  at  the  next  ge 
neral  election  of  Senators,  and  shall  be  published  for 
three  months  previous  to  the  time  of  making  such  choice, 
and  if  in  the  Legislature  so  next  chosen,  as  aforesaid, 
such  proposed  amendment  or  amendments,  shall  be 
agreed  to,  by  a  majority  of  all  the  members  elected  to 
each  house,  then  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Legislature 
to  submit  such  proposed  amendment  or  amendments  to 
the  people,  in  such  manner  and  at  such  time  as  the  Le 
gislature  shall  prescribe;  and  if  the  people  shall  approve 
and  ralifv  such  amendment  or  amendments,  by  a  majo 
rity  of  the  electors  qualified  to  vote  for  members  of  the 
Legislature,  voting  thereon,  such  amendment  or  amend 
ments  shall  become  part  of  the  Constitution. 

2.  At  the  general  election  to  be  held  in  the  year 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-six,  and  in  each  twentieth 
year  thereafter,  and  also  at  such  time  as  the  Legislature 
may  by  law  provide,  the  question,  "  Shall  there  be  a 
Convention  to  revise  the  Constitution,  and  amend  the 
same  ?"  j-hall  be  decided  by  the  electors  qualified  to  vote 
for  members  of  the  Legislature  ;  and  in  case  a  majority 
of  the  electors  so  qualified,  voting  at  such  election,  shall 
decide  in  favor  of  a  Convention  for  such  purpose,  the 
Legislature  at  its  next  session,  shall  provide  by  law  for 
the  election  of  delegates  to  such  Convention. 

ARTICLE   14. 

SECTION  1.  The  first  election  of  Senators  and  mem 
bers  of  Assembly,  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  this  Con 
stitution,  shall  be  held  on  the  Tuesday  succeeding  the 
first  Monday  of  November,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  forty-seven. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK.  87 

The  Senators  and  members  of  Assembly  who  may  be 
in  office  on  the  first  day  of  January,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  forty-seven,  sruill  hold  their  offices  until  and 
including  the  thiny-first  day  of  December  following,  and 
no  longer. 

2.  The    first   election   of  Governor  and  Lieutenant- 
Governor  under  this  Constitution,  shall  be  held  on  the 
Tuesday  succeeding  the  first  Monday  of  November,  one 
thousand   eight  hundred  and   forty-eight;    and  the    Go 
vernor  and  Lieutenant-Governor  in  office  when  this  Con- 
stilinion  shal!  take  effect,  shall  hold  their  respective  offices 
until  and  including  the  thirty-first  day  of  December  of 
that  year. 

3.  The   Secretary  of  State,    Comptroller,  Treasurer, 
Attorney-General,  District- Attorney,  Surveyor-General, 
Canal  Commissioners,  and   inspectors  of  State   prisons, 
in  office  when  this  Constitution  shall  take  effect,  shall 
hold  their  respective  offices  until  and  including  the  thirty- 
first  day  of  December,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
forty-seven,  and  no  longer. 

4.  The  first  election  of  judges  and  clerk  of  the  Court 
of  Appeals,   justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  county 
judges,  shall  take  place  at  such  time    between  the  first 
Tuesday  of  April  and  the  second  Tuesday  of  June,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-seven,  as  may  be  pre 
scribed  by  law.     The  said  courts  shall  respectively  enter 
upon    their   duties,  on    the  first  Monday  of  July,  next 
thereafter;  but  the  term  of  office  of  said  judges,  clerk 
and  justices  as  declared  by  this  Constitution,  shall    be 
deemed  to  commence  on   the  first  day  of  January,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-eight. 

5.  On  the  first  Monday  of  July,    one  thousand  eight 
hundred    and    forty-seven,  jurisdiction  of  all  suits   and 
proceedings  then  pending  in  the  present  Supreme  Court 
and  Court  of  Chancery,  and  all  suits  and   proceedings 
originally  commenced  and  then  pending  in  any  court  of 
common  pleas,  (except  in  the  city  and  county  of  New- 
York),  shall  become  vested  in  the  Supreme  Court  hereby 
established.      Proceedings  pending  in  courts  of  common 
pleas  and  in  suits  originally  commenced  in  justices  courts 
shall  be  transferred  to  the  county   courts  provided  for   in 


88  CONSTITUTION    OF    .NEW    YORK. 

this  Constitution,  in  such  manner  and  form  and  undei 
eucli  regulation,  as  shall  be  provided  by  law.  The 
courts  of  over  and  terminer  hereby  established  shall,  in 
their  respective  counties,  have  jurisdiction,  on  and 
after  the  day  last  mentioned,  of  all  indictments  and  pio- 
ceedings  then  pending  in  the  present  courts  of  oyer  and 
terminer,  and  also  of  all  indictments  and  proceedings 
then  pending  in  the  present  courts  of  general  sessions  of 
the  peace,  except  in  the  city  of  New-York,  and  except 
in  cases  of  which  the  courts  of  sessions  hereby  established 
may  lawfully  take  cognisance;  and  of  such  indictments 
and  proceedings  the  courts  of  sessions  hereby  established 
shall  have  jurisdiction  on  and  after  the  day  last  men 
tioned. 

6.  The  Chancellor  and  the  present  Supreme  Court 
shall,  respectively,    have  power  to  hear  and   determine 
any  of  such    suits  and  proceedings  ready  on  the    first 
Monday  of  July,  one  thousand  ei"ht  hundred  and  forly- 
peven,  forbearing  or  decision,  anu  shall,  for  their  services 
therein,  be  entitled  to  their  present  rates  of  compensation 
until  the  first  day  of  July,  one   thousand  eight  hundred 
and  forty-eight,  or  until  all  such  suits  and    proceedings 
shall    be    sooner   heard     and    determined.     Masters    in 
Chancery  may  continue  to  exercise  the  functions  of  their 
office  in  the  court  of  chancery,  so  long  as  the  Chancellor 
shall   continue    to   exercise  the   functions   of  his  office 
under  the  provisions  of  this  Constitution. 

And  the  Supreme  Court  hereby  established  shall  also 
have  power  to  hear  and  determime  .«uch  of  said  suits  and 
proceedings  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law. 

7.  In  case    any  vacancy  shall  occur  in  the  office  of 
chancellor  or  justice  of  the  present  Supreme  Court,  pre 
viously  to  the  first  day  of  July,  one  thousand  eight  hun 
dred  and   forty-eight,  the  Governor  may  nominate,  and 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  appoint 
a  proper  person  to  fill  such  vacancy.     Any  judge  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals  or  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  elected 
under  this  Constitution,  may  receive  and  hold  such  ap- 
pointrrent. 

8.  The  offices  of  Chancellor,  justice  of  the  existing 
Supreme  Court,  circuit  judge,  vice-chancellor,    assistant 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    YORK.  89 

vice-chancellor,  judge  of  the  existing  county  courtsof  each 
county,  Supreme  Court  commissioner,  master  in  chan 
cery,  examiner  in  chancery,  and  surrogate,  (except  as 
herein  otherwise  provided,)  are  abolished  from  and  after 
the  first  Monday  of  July,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
forty-seven,  (1847.) 

9.  The  Chancellor,  the  justices  of  the  present  Supreme 
Court,  and  the  circuit  judges,  are  hereby  declared  to  ba 
severally  eligible  to  any  office  at  the  first  election  under 
this  Constitution. 

10.  Sheriffs,  clerks  of  counties,  (including  the  register 
and  clerk  of  the    city   and  county  of  New-York)    and 
justices  or  the  peace,  and  coroners,  in  office,  when  this 
Constitution  shall  take  effect,  shall  hold  their  respective 
offices   until  the  expiration  of  the  term  for  which  they 
were  respectively  elected. 

11.  Judicial  officers  in   office  when   this  Constitution 
shall  take  effect  may  continue  to  receive    such    fees  and 
perquisites  of  office  as  are  now  authorized  by  law,  until 
the  first  day  of  July,  one    thousand  eight  hundred  and 
forty-seven,  notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  the  twen 
tieth  section  of  the  sixth  article  of  this  Constitution. 

12.  All  local  courts  established  in  any  city  or  village, 
including  the  superior  court,  common  pleas,   sessions 
and  surrogate's  courts  of  the  city    and  county  of  New 
York,    shall    remain,    until   otherwise  directed    by    the 
Legislature,  with  their  present  powers  and  jurisdictions ; 
and  the  judges  of  such  courts  and  any   clerks   thereof  in 
office    on   the   first  day  of  January  one  thousand  eight 
hundred   and   forty-seven,  shall  continue    in  office  until 
the  expiration  of  their  terms  of  office,  or   until    the  Le 
gislature  shall  otherwise  direct. 

13.  This  Constitution  shall  be  in  force  from  and    in 
cluding  the   first  day  of  January,  one    thousand    eight 
hundred  and  forty-seven,  except  as  is  herein  otherwise 
provided. 

DONE,  In  Convention,  at  the  Capitol,  in  the  city  of  Al 
bany,  the  ninth  day  of  October,  in  the  year  one  thou 
sand  eight  hundred  and  foriy-six,  and  of  the  Indepen 
dence  of  the  United  States  of  \merica  the  seventy-first. 
8* 


90  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW  JERSEY. 

In  witness  whereof  we  have  hereunto  subscribed  our 
names. 

JOHN  TRACY,  President, 
And  Delegate  from  the  County  of  Chenango. 

JAMES  F.  STARBUCK,  ~) 

H.  W.  STRONG,          I  Secretaries, 

FR.  SEGER,  J 

STATE  OF  NEW-YORK, 
Secretary's  Office. 

I  have  compared  the  preceding1  with  the  original  en 
grossed  Constitution  deposited  in  this  office  on  the  ninth 
day  of  October,  1846,  and  Do  Certify,  that  the  same  is 
a  correct  transcript  therefrom,  and  of  the  whole  of  said 
original. 


*******  Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  of  office  at 

*L.  S.t  the  City  of  Albany,  the  tenth  day  of  October, 
*******  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  forty-six. 

N.  S.  BENTON, 

Secretary  of  State. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 


We,  the  people  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  grateful  to 
Almighty  God  for  the  civil  and  religious  liberty  which 
He  hath  so  long  permitted  us  to  enjoy,  and  looking  to 
Him  for  a  blessing  upon  our  endeavors  to  secure  and 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW  JERSEY.  91 

transmit  the  same  unimpaired  to  succeeding  generations, 
do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution. 

ARTICLE  1. 
Rights  and  Privileges. 

1.  All  men  are  by  nature  free  and  independent,  and 
have  certain  natural  and  unalienable  rights,  among  which 
are  those  of  enjoying  and  defending  life  and  liberty,  ac 
quiring,  possessing,  and  protecting  property,  and  of 
pursuing  and  obtaining  safety  and. happiness. 

2.  All  political  power  is  inherent  in  the  people. 
Government  is  instituted  for  the  protection,  security 

and  benefit  of  the  people,  and  they  have  the  right,  at  all 
times  to  alter  or  reform  the  same,  whenever  the  public 
good  may  require  it. 

3.  No   person   shall  be   deprived  of  the  inestimable 
privilege   of  worshipping  Almighty   GoJ  in  a   manner 
agreeable  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience,  nor  under 
any    pretence,    whatever,   be   compelled  to   attend  any 
place  of  worship  contrary   to  his   faith  and  judgment; 
nor  shall  any   person   be  obliged  to  pay   tithes,  taxes, 
or  other  rates  for  building  or  repairing  any   church  or 
churches,  place  or  places  of  worship,  or  for  the  main- 
tainance  of  any  minister  or  ministry,  contrary  to  what 
he  believes  to  be  right,  or  has  deliberately  and  voluntari 
ly  engaged  to  perform. 

4.  There  shall  be  no  establishment  of  one  religious 
sect  in  preference  to  another.     No  religious  test  shall  be 
required  as  a  qualification  for  any  office  or  public  trust; 
and  no  person  shall  be  denied  the  enjoyment  of  any  civil 
right  merely  on  account  of  his  religious  principles. 

5.  Every  person  may  freely  speak,  write,  and  pub 
lish  his  sentiments  on  all  subjects,  being  responsible  for 
the  abuse  of  that  right.      No  law   shall  be   passed   to 
restrain   or   abridge   the   liberty   of    speech   or   of    the 
press. 

In  all  prosecutions  or  indictments  for  libel,  the  truth 
may  be  given  in  evidence  to  the  jury  ;  and  if  it  shall  ap 
pear  to  the  jury  that  the  matter  charged  as  libellous  is 
true,  and  was  published  with  good  motives,  and  for  jus- 


91  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERSEY. 

lifiable  eiuls,  the  party  shall  be  acquitted  ;  and  the  jury 
shall  have  the  right  to  determine  the  law  and  the  fact. 

6.  The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in   their   per 
sons,  houses,  papers   and   effects,    against   unreasonable 
searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be   violated  ;    and    no 
warrant  shall  issue  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported 
by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the 
place  to  be  searched,  and  the  papers  and  things   to  be 
seized. 

7.  The  right  of  trial  by  jury,  shall  remain  inviolate; 
but  the  Legislature  may  authorize  the  trial  of  civil  suits, 
when  the  matter  in  dispute  does  not  exceed  fifty  dollars, 
by  a  jury  of  six  men. 

8.  Jn  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  have 
the  right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by   an  impartial 
jury  ;  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  ac 
cusation  ;  to  be  confronted  with   the  witnesses   against 
him  ;  to  have  compulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses 
in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the  assistance  of  counsel  in  his 
defence. 

9.  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  criminal 
offence,   unless   on   the   presentment  or  indictment  of  a 
grand  jury,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  or  in  cases 
cognizable  by  justices  of  the  peace,   or  arising  in  the 
army  or  navy,  or  in  the  militia,  when  in  actual  service  in 
time  of  war  or  public  danger. 

10.  No  person   shall,  after  acquittal,  be  tried  for  the 
same  offence.     All  persons  shall,  before  conviction,   be 
bailable  by  sufficient  sureties,  except  for  capital  offences, 
when  the  proof  is  evident  or  presumption  great. 

11.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall 
not  be  suspended,  unless  in  case  of  rebellion  or  invasion 
the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

12.  The  military  shall  be  in  strict  subordination  to  the 
civil  power. 

13.  No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in 
any  house  without  the  consent  of  the  owner,   nor  in 
time  of  war,  except  in  a  manner  prescribed  by  law. 

14.  Treason  against  the  State,   shall  consist  only  in 
levying  war  against  it,   or  in  adhering  to   its   enemies, 
giving  them  aid  and  comfort.     No  person  shall  be  con- 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERSEY.  93 

victed  of  treason,  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  witness 
es  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open  court. 

15.  Excessive   bail  shall   not  be  required,  excessive 
fines  shall  not  be  imposed,  and  cruel  and  unusual  pun 
ishments  shall  not  be  inflicted. 

16.  Private  property  shall  not  be  taken  for  public  use 
without  just  compensation  ;  but  land   may   be  taken  for 
public  highways  as  heretofore,  until  the  Legislature  shall 
direct  compensation  to  be  made. 

17.  No  person  shall  be   imprisoned   for  debt  in   any 
action,  or  on  any  judgment  founded  upon  contract,  unless 
in  cases  of  fraud  ;  nor  shall  any  person  be  imprisoned  for 
a  militia  fine,  in  time  of  peace. 

18.  The    people   have   the   right  freely   to   assemble 
together,    to    consult  for    the   common   good,   to   make 
known  their  opinions  to  their  representatives,  and  to  peti 
tion  for  redress  of  grievances. 

19.  This  enumeration  of  lights   and   privileges   shall 
not  be  construed  to  impair  or  deny  others  retained  by 
the  people. 

ARTICLE  2, 
Right  of  Suffrage. 

1.  Every  white  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  of 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  who  shall  have  been  a  resi 
dent  of  this  State  one  year,  and  of  the  county   in    which 
he  claims  his  vote  five  months  next  before    the  election, 
shall  be  entitled  to  vole  lor  all  officers  that  now    are,   or 
hereafter  may  be  elective  by  the   people  ;  provided,  that 
no  person  in  the  military,  naval,  or  marine  service  of  the 
United  States  shall  be  considered  a  resident  in  this  State, 
by  bein£  stationed   in   any  garrison,  barrack,  or  military 
or  naval  place  or  station  within  this  State  ;  and  no  pauper, 
idiot,   insane   person,   or   person   convicted   of  a  crime 
which  now  excludes  him  from  being  a    witness,   unless 
pardoned  or  restored  by  law  to  the  right  of  suffrage, 'shall 
enjoy  the  right  of  an  elector. 

2.  The  Legislature  may  pass  laws  to  deprive  persons 
of  the  right  of  suffrage,  who  sjiaji  be  convicted  of  bribery 
at  elections. 


94  CONSTITUTION  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 

ARTICLE  3. 
Distribution  of  the  Powers  of  Government. 

1.  The  powers  of  the  government  shall  be  divided 
into  three  distinct  departments, — the  Legislative,  Execu 
tive,  and  Judicial ;   and   no  person  or  persons  belonging 
to,  or  constituting  one  of  these  departments,  shall  exer 
cise  any  of  the  powers  properly  belonging  to  either  of 
the  others,  except  as  herein  expressly  provided. 

ARTICLE  4. 
Legislative. 

SEC.  I. — 1.  The  legislative  power  shall  be  vested  in 
a  Senate  and  General  Assembly. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  a  member  of  the  Senate,   who 
shall  not  have  attained  the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  have 
been  a  citizen  and  inhabitant  of  the  State  for  four  years, 
and  of  the  county  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen  one  year, 
next  before  his  election  ;  and  no  person  shall  be  a  mem 
ber  of  the  General  Assembly,  who  shall  not  have  attained 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  have  been  a  citizen  and 
inhabitant  of  the  State  for  two  years,  and   of  the  county 
for  which  he  shall  be  chosen  one  year,   next  before   his 
election  ;  provided,  that  no  person  shall  be  eligible  as  a 
member  of  either  house   of  the   Legislature,   who  shall 
not  be  entitled  to  the  right  of  suffrage. 

3.  Members    of  the    Senate  and   General   Assembly 
shall  be  elected  yearly,  and  every  year,   on   the  second 
Tuesday  of  October  ;  and   the   two   houses  shall   meet 
seperately   on    the    second   Tuesday   in  January   next, 
after  the  said  day  of  election,  at  which  time   of  meeting, 
the  legislative  year  shall   commence  ;  but   the   time  of 
holding  such  election  may  be  altered  by  the  Legislature. 

SEC.  II. —  I.  The  Senate  shall  be  composed  of  one 
senator  from  each  county  in  the  state,  elected  by  the 
legal  voters  of  the  counties,  respectively,  for  three  years. 

2.  *As  soon  as  the  Senate  shall  meet,  after  the  first 
election  to  be  held  in  pursuance  of  this  Constitution,  they 
shall  be  divided,  as  equally  as  may  be,  into  three  classes. 
The  seats  of  the  senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vaca 
ted  at  the  expiration  of  the  first  year;  of  the  second 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW   JERSEY.  93 

class,  at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year;  and  of  the 
third  class,  at  the  expiration  of  the  third  year ;  so  that 
one  class  may  be  elected  every  year ;  and  if  vacancies 
happen,  by  resignation  or  otherwise,  the  persons  elect 
ed  to  supply  such  vacancies,  shall  be  elected  for  the 
nnexpired  terms  only. 

SEC.  Ill — 1.  The  General  Assembly  shall  be  composed 
of  members  annually  elected  by  the  legal  voters  of  the 
counties,  respectively,  who  shall  be  apportioned  among 
the  said  counties,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  according  to  the 
number  of  their  inhabitants.  The  present  apportionment 
shall  continue  until  the  next  census  of  the  United  States 
shall  have  been  taken,  and  an  apportionment  of  members 
of  the  General  Assembly  shall  be  made  by  the  Legisla 
ture,  at  its  first  session  after  the  next  and  every  subse 
quent  enumeration  or  census,  and  when  made,  shah 
remain  unaltered  until  another  enumeration  shall  have 
been  taken;  provided,  that  each -county  shall  at  all 
times  be  entitled  to  one  member;  and  the  whole  num 
ber  of  members  shall  never  exceed  sixty. 

SEC.  IV. —  1.  Each  house  shall  direct  writs  of  election 
for  supplying  vacancies,  occasioned  by  death,  resignation, 
or  otherwise ;  but  if  vacancies  occur  during  the  recess 
of  the  Legislature,  the  writs  may  be  issued  by  the  Govern 
or,  under  such  regulations  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law. 

2.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,   re 
turns,    and   qualifications   of  its   own   members,   and   a 
majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a  quorum   to  do  busi 
ness;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from   day   to 
day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of 
absent  members,  in  such  manner,  and  under  such  penal 
ties  as  each  house  may  provide. 

3.  Each  house  shall   choose  its  own   officers,   deter 
mine  the  rules  of  its  proceeding,  punish  its  members  for 
disorderly  behaviour,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two- 
thirds,  may  expel  a  member. 

4.  Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings, 
and  from  time  to  time  publish  the   same  ;  and   the   yeas 
and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  house,  on  any  ques 
tion,  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those  present,  be 
entered  on  the  journal. 


96  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERSEY. 

5.  Neither  house,  during  the  session  of  the   Legisla 
ture,  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  other,  adj<  urn  for 
more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place   than   that 
in  which  the  two  houses  shall  be  sitting. 

6.  All  bills  and  joint  resolutions  shall   be   read  three 
times  in  each   house,  before   the  final  passage  thereof; 
and  no  bill  or  joint  resoluti;  n  shall  pass,  unless  there  be 
a  majority  of  all  the  members  of  each  body    personally 
present,  and  agreeing  thereto  ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of 
members  voting  on  such  final   passage   shall  be  entered 
on  the  journal. 

7.  Members   of  the  Senate  and    General    Assembly 
shall  receive  a  compensation  for  their  services,  to  be  as 
certained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  Treasury   of  the 
Slate  ;  which  compensation  shall  not  exceed  the  sum   of 
three  dollars  per  day,  for  the  period  of  forty  days   from 
the  commencement  of  the  session  ;  and  shall  not  exceed 
the  sum  of  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  day  for  the   re 
mainder  of  the  session.      When  convened  in   extra  ses 
sion   by   the  Governor,    they   shall    receive   such   sum 
as  shall  be  fixed  for  the  first  forty  days  of  the   ordinary 
session.     They  shall  also  receive  the  sum  of  one   dollar 
for  every  ten  miles  they  shall  travel,  in  going  to  and  re 
turning  from  their  place  of  meeting,  on  the   most  usual 
route.     The  president  of  the  Senate  and   the  speaker  of 
the  House  of  Assembly,  shall,  in  virtue  of  their  offices, 
receive  an  additional   compensation,   equal  to  one   third 
of  their  per  diem  allowance  as  members. 

8.  Members  of  the  Senate  and  of  the  General  Assem 
bly,  shall,  in  all  cases  except  treason,  felony,  and  breach 
of  peace,  be  privileged  from   arrest  during  their  attend 
ance  at  the  sitting  of  their  respective  houses,  and  in  going 
to  and  returning  from  the  same  :  and  for  any  speech  or 
debate,   in  either  house,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in 
any  other  place. 

SEC.  V. —  1.  No  member  of  the  Senate  or  General 
Assembly  shall,  during  the  time  for  which  he  was  elect 
ed,  be  nominated  or  appointed  by  the  Governor,  or  by 
the  Legislature  in  joint  meeting,  to  any  civil  office  under 
the  authority  of  this  State  which  shall  have  been  created, 
or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have  been  increased, 
during  such  time. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEWT    JERSEY.  97 

2.  If  any  member  of  the  Senate  or  General  Assembly 
shall  be  elected  to  represent  this    State  in  the  Senate  or 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States,  and  shall 
accept  thereof,  or  shall  accept  of  any  office  or  appoint 
ment  under  the  government  of  the  United  States,  his  seat 
in  the  Legislature  of  this  State  shall  thereby  be  vacated. 

3.  No  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  nor  judge  of  any 
other  court,  sheriff,  justice  of  the  peace,  nor  any  person 
or  persons  possessed  of  any  office   of  profit  under  the 
government  of  this  State,  shall  be  entitled  to  a  seat  either 
in  the  Senate  or  in  the  General  Assembly  ;  but,  on  being 
elected  and  taking  his  seat,  his  office  shall  be  considered 
vacant;  and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  under 
the  government  of  the  United  States  shall  be  entitled  to 
a  seat  in  either  house. 

SEC.  VI. —  I.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  origi 
nate  in  the  House  of  Assembly  ;  but  the  Senate  may  pro 
pose  or  concur  with  amendments,  as  on  other  bills. 

2.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but 
for  appropriations  made  by  law. 

3.  The  credit  of  the  State  shall  not  be  directly  or  in 
directly  loaned  in  any  case. 

4.  The  Legislature   shall  not,  in  any   manner,  create 
any  debt  or  debts, -liability  or  liabilities,  of  the   State, 
which  shall  singly,  or  in  the  aggregate  with  any  previous 
debts  or  liabilities,  at  any  time  exceed  one  hundred  thou 
sand  dollars,  except  for  purposes   of  war,   or  to  repel 
invasion,  or   to  suppress   insurrection,  unless  the  same 
shall  be  authorized  by  a  law  for  some  single  object  or 
work,  to  be  distinctly  specified  therein  :  which  law  shall 
provide  the  ways  and  means,  exclusive  of  loans,  to  pay 
the  interest  of  such  debt  or  liability  as  it  falls  due,  and 
also,  to  pay  and  discharge  the  principal  of  such  debt  or 
liability  within  thirty-five  years  from  the  time  of  the  con 
tracting    thereof,    and    shall    be    irrepealable  until  such 
debl  or  liability,  and  the  interest  thereon,  are  fully  paid 
and  discharged  ;  and  no  such  law  shall  take  effect  until 
it  shall,  at  a  general  election,  have  been  submitted  to  the 
people,  and  have  received  the  sanction  of  a  majority  of  all 
the  votes  cast  for  and  against  it  at  such  election  ;  and  all 
money  to  be  raised  by  the  authority  of  such  law  shall  be 

9 


98  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERSEY. 

applied  only  to  the  specific  object  stated  therein,  and  to 
the  payment  of  the  debt  thereby  created.  This  section 
shall  not  be  construed  to  refer  to  any  money  that  has 
been,  or  may  be  deposited  with  this  State,  by  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  VII. — 1.    No  divorce  shall  be  granted  by  the 
Legislature. 

2.  No  lottery  shall  be  authorized  by   this  State  ;  and 
no  tickets  in  any  lottery  not  authorized  by  a  law  of  this 
State,  shall  be  bought  or  sold  within  the  State. 

3.  The  Legislature  shall  not  pass  any  bill  of  attainder, 
ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  con 
tracts,  or  depriving  a  party  of  any  remedy  for  enforcing 
a  contract,  which  existed  when  the  contract  was  made. 

4.  To  avoid  improper  influences  which  may  result  from 
intermixing  in  one  and  the  same  act,  such  things  as  have 
no  proper  relation  to  each  other,  every  law  shall  embrace 
but  one  object,  and  that  shall  be  expressed  in  the  title. 

5.  The  laws  of  this  state  shall  begin  in  the  following 
style  :  "  Be  it  enacted   by  the  Senate  and    General  As 
sembly  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey." 

6.  The  fund  for  the  support  of  free  schools,    and  all 
money,  stock,  and  other  property,  which  may  hereafter 
be  appropriated  for  that  purpose,    or    received  into   the 
treasury  under  the  provision  of  any  law  heretofore  passed 
to  augment  the  said  fund,  shall  be  securely  invested,  and 
remain  a  perpetual  fund  ;  and  the  income  thereof,  except 
so  much  as  it  may  be  judged  expedient  to  apply  to  an 
increase  of  the  capital,  shall  be  annually  appropriated  to 
the  support  of  public  schools,  for  the  equal  benefit  of  all 
the  people  of  the  State  ;  and   it  shall   not  be  competent 
for  the  Legislature  to   borrow,   appropriate,   or  use  the 
said  fund,  or  any  part  thereof,  for  any  other  purpose,  un 
der  any  pretence  whatever. 

7.  No  private  or  special  law  shall  be  passed,   authori 
zing  the  sale  of  any  lands  belonging  in  whole  or  in  part 
to  a  minor  or  minors,  or  other  persons  who  may   at  the 
time  be  under  any  legal  disability  to  act  for  themselves. 

8.  The  assent  of  three-fifths  of  the  members  elected 
to  each  house  shall  be  requisite   to  the  passage  of  every 
«aw  for  granting,  continuing,   altering,  amending,  or  re« 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERSEY.  99 

newing  charters  for  banks,  or  money  corporations  ;  and 
all  such  charters  shall  be  limited  to  a  term  not  exceeding 
twenty  years. 

9.  Individuals,  or  private   corporations  shall  not  be 
authorized  to  take  private  property  for  public  use,  with 
out  just  compensation  first  made  to  the  owners. 

10.  The  Legislature  may  vest  in  the  Circuit  Courts, 
or  Courts  of  Common  Pleas,  within  the  several  counties 
of  this  State,  Chancery  powers,  so  far  as   relates   to  the 
foreclosure  of  mortgages,  and  sale  of  mortgaged  premises, 

SKC.  VIII. —  1.  Members  of  the  Legislature  shall,  be 
fore  they  enter  on  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices, 
take  and  subscribe  the  following  oath  or  affirmation : 

**  I  (io  solemnly  swear,  (or  affirm,  as  the  case  may  be,) 
that  I  will  support  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  constitution  of  the  Stale  of  New  Jersey,  and  that 
I  will  faithfully  discharge  the  duties  of  .senator  (or  mem 
ber  of  the  General  Assembly,  as  the  case  may  be,)  ac 
cording  to  the  best  of  my  ability." 

And  members  elect,  of  the  Senate  or  General  Assembly, 
are  hereby  empowered  to  administer  to  each  other  the 
said  oath  or  affirmation. 

ARTICLE  5. 
Executive. 

1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  Governor. 

2.  The  Governor  shall  be  elected  by  the  legal  voters 
of  the  State.     The  person  having  the  highest  number  of 
votes  shall  be  the  Governor ;  but  if  two  or  more  shall  be 
equal,  and  highest  in  votes,  one  of  them  shall  be  chosen 
Governor  by  the  votes  of  the  majority  of  the  members  of 
both  houses  in  joint  meeting.     Contested  elections  for 
the  otfice  of  Governor  shall  be  determined  in  such  man 
ner  as   the    Legislature  shall  direct  by  law,     When   a 
Governor  is  to   be  elected  by  the  people,  such  election 
shall  be  held  at  the  time  when,  and  at  the  places  where  the 
people    shall    respectively   vote    for   members   of    the 
Legislature. 

3.  The  Governor  shall  hold  his  office  for  three  years, 
to  commence  on  the  third  Tuesday  of  January  next  en 
suing  the  election  for  Governor  by  the  people,  and  to  end 


100  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERSEV. 

on  the  Monday  preceding  the  third  Tuesday  of  January, 
three  years  thereafter  ;  and  he  shall  be  incapable  of  hold 
ing  that  office  for  three  years  next  after  his  term  of  ser 
vice  shall  have  expired  ;  and  no  appointment  or  nomina 
tion  to  office  shall  be  made  by  the  Governor  during  the 
last  week  of  his  said  term. 

4.  The  Governor  shall  be  not  less  than  thirty  years  ol 
age,  and  shall  have  been  for  twenty   years,  at  least,  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  a  resident  of  this  State 
seven   years  next  before  his  election,  unless  he   shall 
have  been  absent  during  that  time,  on  the  public  business 
of  the  United  States,  or  of  this  State. 

5.  The  Governor  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his 
services  a  compensation  which  shall  be  neither  increased 
nor  diminished  during  the  period  for  which  he  shall  have 
been  elected. 

6.  He  shall  be  thecommander-in-chief  of  all  the  military 
and  naval  forces  of  the  State ;  he  shall   have  power  to 
convene  the  Legislature,  whenever,  in  his  opinion,  pub 
lic  necessity  requires  it;  he  shall  communicate,  by  mes 
sage,  to  the  Legislature  at  the  opening  of  each  session, 
and  at  such  other  times  as  he  may  deem   necessary,  the 
condition  of  the  State,  and  recommend  such  measures  as 
he  may  deem  expedient;  he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws 
be  faithfully  executed,  and  grant,  under  the  great  seal  of 
the  State,  commissions  to  all  such  officers  as  shall  be  re 
quired  to  be  commissioned. 

7.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  both  houses, 
shall  be  presented  to  the  Governor :  if  he  approve,  he 
shall  sign  it,  but  if  not,  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  ob 
jections,  to  the  house  in  which  it  shall  have  originated, 
who  shall  enter  the  objections   at  large  on  their  journal, 
and  proceed  to  re-consider  it ;  if,  after  such  re-considera 
tion,  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  that  house  shall 
agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the 
objections,  to  the  other  house,  by  whom  it  shall  likewise 
be  re-considered,  and  if  approved  of  by  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number  of  that  house,  it  shall  become  a  law  ;  but 
in  neither  house  shall  the  vote  be  taken  on  the  same  day 
on  which  the  bill  shall  be  returned  to  it :  and  in  all  such 
rases  the  votes  of  both  houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERSEY.  101 

and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and 
against  the  bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each 
house  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by 
the  Governor,  within  five  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after 
it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a 
law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the 
Legislature,  by  their  adjournment,  prevent  its  return,  in 
which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

8.  No  member  of  Congress,  or  person  holding  an  of 
fice  under  the  United  States,  or  this  State,  shall  exercise 
the  office  of  Governor  ;  and  in  case  the  Governor,  or  per 
son  administering  the  government,  shall  accept  any  of 
fice  under  the  United  States,  or  this  State,  his  office  of 
Governor  shall  thereupon  be  vacant. 

9.  The  Governor,  or  person  administering  the  govern 
ment,  shall  have  power  to  suspend  the  collection  of  fines 
and  forfeitures,  and  to  grant  reprieves,  to  extend  until  the 
expiration  of  a  time  not  exceeding  ninety  days  after  con 
viction  ;  but  this  power  shall  not  extend  to  cases  of  im 
peachment. 

10.  The    Governor,    or   person     administering    the 
government,  the  Chancellor,  and  the  six  judges  of  the 
Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals,  or  a  major  part  of  them, 
of  whom  the  Governor,  or  person  administering  the  gov 
ernment  shall  be  one,  may   remit  fines   and  forfeitures, 
and  grant  pardons   after  conviction,  in   all  cases  except 
impeachment. 

11.  The  Governor,  and   all  other  civil  officers  under 
this  State  shall  be  liable  to  impeachment  for  misdemean 
or  in  office,  during  their  continuance  in  office,  and  for 
two  years  thereafter. 

12.  In  case  of  the  death,  resignation,  or  removal  from 
office  of  the  Governor,  the  powers,  duties,   and  emolu 
ments  of  the  office  shall  devolve  upon  the  President  of 
the  Senate  ;  and  in  case  of  his  death,  resignation,  or  re 
moval,  then  upon  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Assem 
bly,  for  the  time  being,  until   another  Governor  shall  be 
elected  and  qualified  ;  but  in  such  case,  another  Governor 
shall  be  chosen  at  the  next  election  for  members  of  the 
State  Legislature,  unless  dealh,  resignation,  or  removal 
shall  occur  within  thirty  days  immediately  preceding  such 

9* 


102  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW   JERSEY. 

next  election,  in  which  case  a  Governor  shall  be  chosen 
at  the  second  succeeding  election  for  members  of  the 
Legislature.  When  a  vacancy  happens,  during  the  re 
cess  of  the  Legislature,  in  any  office  which  is  to  be  filled 
by  the  Governor  and  Senate,  or  by  the  Legislature  in 
joint  meeting,  the  Governor  shall  fill  such  vacancy,  and 
the  commission  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  the  next  ses 
sion  of  the  Legislature,  unless  a  successor  shall  be  sooner 
appointed  :  when  a  vacancy  happens  in  the  office  of  clerk 
or  surrogate  of  any  county,  the  Governor  shall  fill  such 
vacancy,  and  the  commission  shall  expire  when  a  suc 
cessor  is  elected  and  qualified. 

13.  In  case  of  the  impeachment  of  the  Governor,  his 
absence  from  the  State,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  du 
ties  of  his  office,  the  powers,  duties,  and  emoluments  of 
the  office  shall  devolve  upon  the  President  of  the  Senate; 
and  in  case  of  his  death,  resignation,  or  removal,   then 
upon  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Assembly  for  the  time 
being,  until  the  Governor,  absent  or  impeached,  shall  re 
turn  or  be  acquitted,  or  until  the  disqualification  or  inabili 
ty  shall  cease,  or  until  a  new  Governor  be  elected  and 
qualified. 

14.  In  case  of  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  Governor, 
from  any  other  cause  than  those  herein  enumerated,  or 
in  case  of  the  death  of  the  Governor  elect,  before  he  is 
qualified  into  office,  the  powers,  duties,  and  emoluments 
of  the    office  shall  devolve  upon   the  President  of  the 
Senate,  or  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  as  above 
provided  lor,  until  anew  Governor  be  elected  and  qualified. 

ARTICLE  VI . 
Judiciary. 

SEC.  I. — 1.  The  judicial  power  shall  be  vested  in  a 
Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals,  in  the  last  resort  in  all 
causes,  as  heretofore ;  a  Court  for  the  trial  of  Impeach 
ments  ;  a  Court  of  Chancery;  a  Prerogative  Court ;  a  Su 
preme  Court ;  Circuit  Courts,  and  such  inferior  Courts  as 
now  exist,  and  as  may  be  hereafter  ordained  and  estab 
lished  by  law  ;  which  inferior  Courts  the  Legislature  may 
alter  or  abolish,  as  the  public  good  shall  require. 

SEC.  II. — 1.   The  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeils  shall 


CONSTITUTION"    OF    NEW   JERSEY.  103 

consist  of  the  Chance'lor,  the  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  six  judges,  or  a  major  part  of  them  ;  which 
judges  are  to  be  appointed  for  six  years. 

2.  Immediately  after  the  Court  shall  first  assemble,  the 
six  judges  shall  arrang;  themselves  in  such  manner  that 
the   seat  of  one  of  th^m   shall  be   vacated  every  year, 
in  order  that  thereafter  one  judge  may  be  annually  ap 
pointed. 

3.  Such   of  the  six  judges  as    shall  attend  the  Court 
shall  receive,  respectively,  a  per  diem  compensation,  to 
be  provided  by  law. 

4.  The  Secretary  of  State  shall  be  the  clerk  of  this  Court. 
£.  When  an  appeal  from  an  order  or  decree   shall  be 

heard,  the  Chancellor  shall  inform  the  Court,  in  writing, 
of  the  reasons  for  his  order  or  decree  ;  but  he  shall  not 
sit  as  a  member,  or  have  a  voice  in  the  hearing  or  final 
sentence. 

6.  When  a  writ  of  error  shall  be  brought,  no  justice 
who  has  given  a  judicial  opinion  in  the  cause,  in  favor 
of  or  against  any  error  complained  of,  shall  sit  as  a  mem 
ber,  or  have  a  voice  on  the  hearing,  or  for  its  affirmance 
or  reversal ;  but  the  reasons  for  such  opinion  shall  be 
assigned  to  the  court  in  writing. 

SEC.  III. —  1.  The  House  of  Assembly  shall  have  the 
sole  power  of  impeaching,  by  a  vote  of  a  majority  of  all 
the  members  ;  and  all  impeachments  shall  be  tried  by  the 
Senate  :  the  members,  when  sitting  for  that  purpose,  to 
be  on  oath  or  affirmation  **  truly  and  impartially  to  try 
and  determine  the  charge  in  question  according  to  evi 
dence :"  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without  the 
concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  all  the  members  of  the  Se 
nate. 

2.  Any  judicial  officer  impeached  shall  be  suspended 
from  exercising  his  office  until  his  acquittal. 

3.  Judgment,  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall   not  ex 
tend  farther  than  to  removal  from  office  and  to  disquali 
fication  to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  profit,  or 
trust  under  this  State;  but  the  party  convicted  shall  never 
theless   be   liable  to  indictment,  trial,  and  punishment, 
according  to  law. 

4.  The  Secretary  of  State  shall  be  the  clerk  of  this  Court 


104  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERSEY. 

SEC.  IV.— 1.  The  Court  of  Chancery  shall  consist 
of  a  Chancellor. 

2.  The  Chancellor  shall  be  the  ordinary,  or  surrogate 
general,  and  judge  of  the  Prerogative  Court. 

3.  All  persons  aggrieved   by  any  order,  sentence,  or 
decree  of  the  Orphans'  Court  may  appeal  from  the  same, 
or  from  any  part  thereof,  to  the  Prerogative  Court ;  but 
such  order,  sentence,  or  decree  shall  not  be  removed  into 
the  Supreme  Court,  or  Circuit  Court,  if  the  subject  matter 
thereof  be  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Orphans'  Court. 

4.  The  Secretary  of  State  shall  be  the  register  of  the 
Prerogative  Court,  and  shall  perform  the  duties  required 
of  him  by  law  in  that  respect. 

SEC.  V. — 1.  The  Supreme  Court  shall  consist  of  a 
chief  justice  and  four  associate  justices.  The  number  of 
associate  justices  may  be  increased  or  decreased  by  law, 
but  shall  never  be  less  than  two. 

2.  The  Circuit  Courts  shall  be  held  in  every  county 
of  this  State,  by  one  or  more  of  the  justices  of  the  Su 
preme  Court,  or  a  judge  appointed  for  that  purpose  ;  and 
shall  in  all  cases  within  the  county,  except  in  those  of 
a  criminal  nature,  have  common  law  jurisdiction  concur 
rent  with  the  Supreme  Court;  and  any   final  judgment 
of  a  Circuit  Court  may  be  docketed   in   the  Supreme 
Court,  and  shall  operate  as  a  judgment  obtained  in  the 
Supreme  Court,  from  the  time  of  such  docketing. 

3.  Final  judgments   in  any    Circuit  Court  may   be 
brought,  by  writ  of  error,  into  the  Supreme  Court,  or 
directly  into  the  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals. 

SEC.  VI. — 1.  There  shall  be  no  more  than  five  judges 
of  the  inferior  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  each  of  the 
counties  in  this  State  after  the  terms  of  the  judges  of  said 
court  now  in  office  shall  terminate.  One  judge  for  each 
county  shall  be  appointed  every  year,  and  no  more,  ex 
cept  to  fill  vacancies,  which  shall  be  for  the  unexpired 
term  only. 

2.  The  commissions  for  the  first  appointments  of 
judges  of  said  Court  shall  bear  date  and  take  effect  on  the 
first  day  of  April  next;  and  all  subsequent  commissions 
for  judges  of  said  Court  shall  bear  date  and  take  effect  on 
the  first  day  of  April  in  every  successive  year,  except 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERSEY.  105 

eommiss'.ins  to  fill  vacancies,  which  shall  bear  date  and 
take  effert  when  issued. 

SEC.  V  I!. — 1.  There  may  be  elected  under  this  Consti 
tution  two,  and  not  more  than  five,  justices  of  the  peace  in 
each  of  Hie  townships  of  the  several  comities  of  this  state, 
and  in  each  of  the  wards,  in  cities  that  may  vote  in 
wards.  When  a  township  or  ward  contains  two  thou 
sand  inhabitants,  or  less,  it  may  have  two  justices  ;  when 
it  contains  more  than  two  thousand  inhabitants,  and  not 
more  than  four  thousand,  it  may  have  four  justices  ; 
and  when  it  contains  more  than  four  thousand  inhabi 
tants,  it  may  have  five  justices  ;  provided,  that  whenever 
any  township,  not  voting-  in  wards,  contains  more  than 
seven  thousand  inhabitants,  such  township  may  have  an 
additional  justice  for  each  additional  three  thousand  in 
habitants  above  four  thousand. 

2.  The  population  of  the  townships  in  the  several 
counties  of  the  State  and  of  the  several  wards  shall  be 
ascertained  by  the  last  preceding  census  of  the  United 
States,  until  the  Legislature  shall  provide  by  law  some 
other  mode  of  ascertaining  it. 

ARTICLE  VI T. 

Appointing  Power  and  Tenure  of  Office. 
SEC.  I. — MILITIA  OFFICERS. —  1.  The  Legislature  shall 
provide  by  law  for  enrolling,  organizing,  and  arming  the 
militia. 

2.  Captains,  subalterns,  and  non-commissioned  officers 
shall  be  elected  by  the  members  of  their  respective  com 
panies. 

3.  Field  officers  of  regiments,  independent  battallions, 
and  squadrons  shall  be  elected  by  the  commissioned  offi 
cers  of  their  respective  regiments,  battallions.  or  squadrons. 

4.  Brigadier  generals  shall  be  elected  by  the  field  offi 
cers  of  their  respective  brigades. 

5.  Major  generals  shall  be  nominated  by  the  Govern 
or,  and  appointed  by  him,  with  the  advice  and   consent 
of  the  Senate. 

6.  The  Legislature  shall  provide  by  law,  the  time  and 
manner  of  electing  militia  officers,  and  of  certifying  their 
elections  to  the  Governor,  who  shall  grant  their  commis- 

8* 


10$  CONSTITUTION    OF    NFW    JERSEY. 

sions  and  determine  their  rank,  when  not  determined  by 
law  :  and  no  commissioned  officer  shall  be  removed  from 
office  but  by  the  sentence  a  court  martial,  pursuant  to 
law. 

7.  In  case  the  electors  of  subalterns,  captains,  or  field 
officers,  should  refuse  or  neglect  to  make  such  elections, 
the  Governor  shall  have  power  to  appoint  such  officers, 
and  to  fill  all  vacancies  caused  by  such  refusal  or  neglect. 

8.  Brigade  inspectors  shall  be  chosen  by  the  field  offi 
cers  of  their  respective  brigades. 

9.  The  Governor  shall  appoint  the  adjutant  general, 
quarter   master   general,    and    all  other   militia   officers 
whose  appointment  is  not  otherwise  provided  for  in  this 
Constitution. 

10.  Major  generals,  brigadier  generals,  and  command 
ing  officers   of  regiments,  independent  battallions,  and 
squadrons  shall  appoint  the  staff  officers  of  their  divisions, 
brigades,  regiments,  independent  battallions,  and  squad 
rons,  respectively. 

SEC.  II. — CIVIL  OFFICERS. — 1.  Justices  of  the  Su 
preme  Court,  Chancellor,  and  judges  of  the  Court  of 
Errors  and  Appeals,  shall  be  nominated  by  the  Governor, 
and  appointed  by  him,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate, — The  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  and 
Chancellor  shall  hold  their  offices  for  the  term  of  seven 
years  ;  shall,  at  slated  times,  receive  for  their  services  a 
compensation,  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  the 
term  of  their  appointments  ;  and  they  shall  hold  no  other 
office  under  the  government  of  this  State,  or  of  the 
United  States. 

2.  Judges  of  the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas  shall  be  ap 
pointed  by  the  Senate  and  General   Assembly,   in  joint 
meeting.     They  shall  hold  their  offices   for  five  years  ; 
but  when  appointed  to  fill  vacancies,  they  shall  hold  for 
the  unexpired  term  only. 

3.  The  State  Treasurer  and  the  keeper  and  inspectors 
of  the  State  prison  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Senate  and 
General  Assembly,   in  joint  meeting.     They  shall  hold 
their  offices  for  one  year,  and  until  their  successors  shall 
be  qualified  into  office. 

4.  The  Attorney    General,  prosecutors  of  the  Pleas, 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERPEY.  107 

clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court,  clerk  of  the  Court  of  Chan 
cery,  and  Secretary  of  State,  shall  be  nominated  by  the 
Governor,  and  appointed  by  him,  with  the  advice  and  con 
sent  of  the  Senate.  They  shall  hold  their  offices  for 
five  years. 

5.  The  law  reporter  shall  be  appointed  by  the  justices 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  or  a  majority  of  them  ;  and  the 
chancery  reporter  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Chancellor. 
They  shall  hold  their  offices  for  five  years. 

6.  Clerks  and  surrogates  of  counties  shall  be  elected  by 
the  people  of  their  respective   counties,  at  the   annual 
elections  for  members  of  the  General  Assembly,  they 
shall  hold  their  offices  for  five  years. 

7.  Sheriffs  and  coroners  shall  be  elected  annually,  by 
the  people  of  their  respective   counties,   at  the  annual 
elections  for  members  of  the  General  Assembly. — They 
may   be   re-elected  until  they  shall  have   served   three 
years,  but  no  longer  ;    after  which,  three  years   must 
elapse  before  they  can  be  again  capable  of  serving. 

8.  Justices  of  the  peace  shall  be  elected,  by  ballot,  at 
the  annual  meetings  of  the   townships    in  the  several 
counties  of  the  State,  and  of  the  wards  in  cities  that  may 
vote  in  wards,  in  such  manner,  and  under  such  regula 
tions  as  may  be  hereafter  provided  by  law.     They  shall 
be  commissioned  for  the  county,  and  their  commissions 
shall  bear  date,  and  take  effect  on  the  first  day  of  May 
next  after  their  election.     They  shall  hold  their  offices 
for  five  years  ; — but  when  elected  to  fill  vacancies,  they 
shall  hold  for  the   unexpired  term   only  ;  provided,  that 
the  commission  of  any  justice  of  the  peace  shall  become 
vacant  upon  his  ceasing  to  reside  in  the  township    in 
which  he  was  elected.     The  first  election  for  justices  of 
the  peace  shall  take  place  at  the  next  annual  town  meet 
ings  of  the  townships  of  the  several  counties  of  the  State, 
and  of  the  wards  in  cities  that  may  vote  in  wards. 

9.  All   other   officers,    whose   appointments   are  not 
otherwise   provided  for  by  law,  shall  be  nominated  by 
the  Governor,  and    appointed  by   him,  with   the  advice 
arid  consent  of  the  Senate  ;  and  shall  hold  their  offices 
for  the  time  prescribed  by  law. 

10.  All  civil  officers  elected  or  appointed  pursuant  to 


108  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERSEY. 

the  provisions  of  this  Constitution  shall  be  commissioned 
by  the  Governor. 

11.  The  term  of  office  of  all  officers  elected  or  ap 
pointed  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  this  Constitution, 
except  when  herein  otherwise  directed,  shall  commence 
on  the  day  of  the  date  of  their  respective  commissions  ; 
but  no  commission  for  any  office  shall  bear  date  prior  to 
the  expiration  of  the  term  of  the  incumbent  of  said  office. 

ARTICLE  VIII. 
General  Provision. 

1.  The  Secretary  of  State  shall  be  ex-officio  an  audi 
tor  of  the  accounts  of  the  Treasurer,  and,  as  such,  it  shall 
be  his  duty  to  assist   the  Legislature  in  the  annual  ex 
amination  and  settlement  of  said  accounts,  until  otherwise 
provided  by  law. 

2.  The  seal  of  the  State  shall  be  kept  by  the  Governor, 
or  person  administering  the  government,  and  used  by  him 
officially,  and  shall  be  called  the  Great  Seal  of  the  State 
of  New  Jersey. 

3.  All  grants  and  commissions  shall  be   in  the   name 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  sealed 
with  the  great  seal,  signed   by  the  Governor  or  person 
administering  the  government,  and  countersigned  by  the 
Secretary  of  State,  and  shall  run  thus  :  **  The  State  of 

New  Jersey  to ,  greeting."     All  writs  shall  be 

in  the  name  of  the  State  ;  and  all  indictments  shall  con 
clude  in  the  following  manner,  viz.:  "  against  the  peace 
of  this  State,  the  government  and  dignity  of  the  same/' 

4.  This  Constitution  shall   take   effect   and  go    into 
operation  on  the  second  day  of  September,   in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-four. 

ARTICLE  IX. 
Amendments. 

1.  Any  specific  amendment  or  amendments  to  the 
Constitution  may  be  proposed  in  the  Senate  or  General 
Assembly,  and  if  the  same  shall  be  agreed  to  by  a  ma 
jority  of  the  members  elected  to  each  of  the  two  houses, 
such  proposed  amendment  or  amendments  shall  be  enter 
ed  on  their  journals,  with  the  yeas  and  nays  taken  there- 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERSEY.  109 

on,  and  referred  to  the  Legislature  then  next  to  be 
chosen,  and  shall  be  published,  for  three  months  previous 
to  making  such  choice,  in  at  least  one  newspaper  of  each 
county,  if  any  be  published  therein;  and  if  in  the  Legis 
lature  next  chosen,  as  aforesaid,  such  proposed  amend 
ment  or  amendments,  or  any  of  them,  shall  be  agreed  to 
by  a  majority  of  all  the  members  elected  to  each  house, 
then  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Legislature  to  submit  such 
proposed  amendment  or  amendments,  or  such  of  them 
as  may  have  been  agreed  to  as  aforesaid,  by  the  two 
Legislatures  to  the  people,  in  such  manner  and  at  such 
time,  at  least  four  months  after  the  adjournment  of  the 
Legislature  as  the  Legislature  shall  prescribe  :  and  if  the 
people,  at  a  special  election  to  be  held  for  that  purpose 
only,  shall  approve  and  ratify  such  amendment  or  amend 
ments,  or  any  of  them,  by  a  majority  of  the  electors 
qualified  to  vote  for  members  of  the  Legislature  voting 
thereon,  such  amendment  or  amendments,  so  approved 
and  ratified,  shall  become  part  of  the  Constitution  ;  pro 
vided,  that  if  more  than  one  amendment  be  submitted, 
they  shall  be  submitted  in  such  manner  and  form  that  the 
people  may  vote  for  or  against  each  amendment  sepa 
rately  and  distinctly;  but  no  amendment  or  amendments 
shall  be  submitted  to  the  people  by  the  Legislature  often- 
er  than  once  in  five  years. 

ARTICLE  X. 
Schedule. 

That  no  inconvenience  may  arise  from  the  change  in 
the  Constitution  of  this  State,  and  in  order  to  carry  the 
same  into  complete  operation,  it  is  hereby  declared  and 
ordained,  that — 

1.  The  common  law  and  statute  laws  now  in  force, 
not  repugnant  to  this  Constitution,  shall  remain  in  force 
until  they  expire  by  their  own  limitation,  or  be  altered 
or  repealed  by  the  Legislature ;  and  all  writs,  actions, 
causes  of  action,  prosecutions,  contracts,  claims,  and 
rights  of  individuals,  and  of  bodies  corporate,  and  of  the 
State,  and  all  charters  of  incorporation  shall  continue, 
and  all  indictments  which  shall  have  been  found,  or 
which  may  hereafter  be  found,  for  any  crime  or  offence 
10 


110  CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERSEY. 

committed  before  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  may 
be  proceeded  upon  as  if  no  change  had  taken  place. 
The  several  courts  of  law  and  equity,  except  as  herein 
otherwise  provided,  shall  continue  with  the  like  powers 
and  jurisdiction  as  if  this  Constitution  had  not  been 
adopted. 

2.  All  officers  now  filling  any  office  or  appointment, 
shall  continue  in  the  exercise  of  the  duties  thereof,  ac 
cording  to  their  respective  commissions  or  appointments, 
unless,  by  this  Constitution  it  is  otherwise  directed. 

3.  The  present  Governor,  Chancellor,   and  Ordinary 
or  Surrogate  General,  and   Treasurer,  shall   continue  in 
office  uniil  successors  elected  or   appointed  under  this 
Constitution  shall  be  sworn  into  office. 

4.  In  case  of  the  death,   resignation,  or  disability  of 
the  present  Governor,  the  person  who  may  be  Vice  Pre 
sident  of  Council  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  con 
stitution   shall  continue  in  office,    and    administer    the 
government,  until  a  Governor   shall  have  been   elected 
and  sworn  or  affirmed  into  office  under  this   Constitu 
tion. 

5.  The  present  Governor,  or  in  case  of  his  death,  or 
inability  to  act,  the  Vice   President  of  Council,  together 
•with  the  present  members  of  the  Legislative  Council  and 
Secretary  of  State  shall   constitute  a  board  of  State  can 
vassers,   in  the  manner  now   provided   by  law,  for  the 
purpose    of  ascertaining   and   declaring  the     result   of 
the  next  ensuing  election  for  Governor,  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  electors  of  President  and 
Vice  President. 

6.  The  returns  of  the  votes  for   Governor,  at  the  said 
next  ensuing  election  slnilJ  be  transmitted  to  the  Secre 
tary   of  State,   the  votes  counted,  and  the  election  de 
clared,    in    the    manner   now    provided   by  law   in   the 
case  of  the  election  of  electors  of  President  and  Vice 
President. 

7.  The  election  of  clerks    and    surrogates   in   those 
counties  where  the  term  of  office  of  the  present  incum 
bents  shall  expire    previous  to   the  general   election   of 
eighteen   hundred    and   forty-five,   shall  be   held  at  the 
general  election  next  ensuing  the  adoption  of  this  Con- 


CONSTITUTION    OF    NEW    JERSEY.  1  1  I 

stitution  ;  the  result  of  which  election  shall  be  ascertain 
ed  in  the  manner  now  provided  by  law  for  the  election 
of  sheriff's. 

8.  The  elections  for  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and 
forty-four  shall  take  place  as  now  provided  by  law. 

9.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Governor  to  fill  all  va 
cancies  in  office  happening  between  the  adoption  of  this 
Constitution  and  the  first  session  of  the  Senate,  and  not 
otherwise    provided   for;    and    the    commissions    shall 
expire  at  the  end  of  the   first  session  of  the  Senate,  or 
when   successors   shall    be   elected,    or   appointed    and 
qualified. 

10.  The  restriction  of  the   pay   of  members   of  the 
Legislature,  after  forty  days  from  the  commencement  of 
the  session,  shall  not  be  applied  to  the  first  Legislature 
convened  under  this  Constitution. 

11.  Clerks  of  counties  shall  be  clerks  of  the  inferior 
Courts  of  Common  Pleas  and  Quarter-Sessions  of  the 
several  counties,  and  perform  the  duties,  and  be  subject 
to  the  regulations,  now  required  of  them  by  law,  until 
otherwise  ordained  by  the  Legislature. 

12.  The  Legislature  shall  pass  all  laws  necessary  to 
carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of  this  Constitution. 

Done  in  convention  at  the  State  House,  in  Trenton, 
on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  June,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-four,  and  of  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  sixty- 
eighth.  ALEXANDER  WURTS, 

President  of  the  Convention. 
WILLIAM  PATTERSON,  Secretary. 
TH.  J.  SAUNDERS,  Assistant  Secretary. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

ARTICLE  1. 

SEC.  1.  The  legislative  power  of  this  commonwealth 
shall  be  vested  in  a  general  Assembly,  which  shall  con 
sist  in  a  Senate,  and  House  of  Representatives. 


CONSTITUTION  OF   PENNSYLVANIA. 

2.  The  representatives  shall  be  chosen  annually,  by  the 
citizens  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  of  each  county 
respectively,  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  October. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not 
have  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  have  been 
a  citizen  and  inhabitant  of  the  State  three  years  next  pre 
ceding  his  election,  and  the  last  year  thereof  an  inhabitant 
of  the  district  in  and  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen  a  re 
presentative,  unless  he  shall  have  been  absent  on  the  pub 
lic  business  of  the  United  States  or  of  this  State. 

4.  Within    three  years    after  the  first  meeting  of  the 
general    Assembly,    and  within  every  subsequent  term 
of   seven   years,  an   enumeration  of  the  taxable  inhabi 
tants  shall  be  made   in  such    manner   as    shall    be    di 
rected  by  law.     The  number  of  representatives  shall  at 
the  several  periods  of  making  such  enumeration,  be  fixed 
by  the  legislature,  and  apportioned  among  the  city  of 
Philadelphia  and  the  several  counties,  according  to  the 
number  of  taxable  inhabitants  in  each  :  and   shall  never 
be  less  than  sixty  nor  greater  than  one  hundred.     Each 
county   shall   have   at  least   one   representative,  but   no 
county  hereafter  erected  shall  be  entitled  to  a  separate  re 
presentation  until  a  sufficient  number  of  taxable  inhabi 
tants  shall  be  contained  within  it,  to  entitle  them  to  one 
representative,  agreeably  to  the  ratio  which  shall  then  be 
established. 

5.  The  .senators  shall  be  chosen  for  three  years  by  the 
citizens  of  Philadelphia  and  of  the   several  counties,  at 
the  same  time,  in  the  same  manner,  and  at  the  same  places 
where  they  shall  vote  for  representatives. 

6.  The  number  of  senators  shall,  at  the  several  periods 
of  making  the  enumeration  before  mentioned,  be  fixed  by 
the  legislature,  and  apportioned  among  the  districts  form 
ed  as  hereinafter  directed,  according  to  the  number  of 

'  taxable  inhabitants  in  each  ;  and  shall  never  be  less  than 
one-fourth,  nor  greater  than  one-third,  of  the  number  of  re 
presentatives. 

7.  The  senators  shall  be  chosen  in  districts,  to  be  so  form 
ed  by  the  legislature  ;  but  no  district  shall  be  so  formed  as  to 
entitle  it  to  elect  more  than  two  senators,  unless  the  num 
ber  of  taxable  inhabitants  in  any  city  or  county  shall,  at 


CONSTITUTION   OF  PENNSYLVANIA.  113 

any  time,  be  such  as  to  entitle  it  to  elect  more  than  two, 
but  no  city  or  county  shall  be  entitled  to  eluct  more  than 
four  senators;  when  a  district  shall  be  composed  of  two 
or  more  counties,  they  shall  be  adjoining;  neither  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  nor  any  county  shall  be  divided  in 
forming  a  district. 

8.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have  at 
tained  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  have  been  a  citi 
zen  and  inhabitant  of  the  State  four  years  next  before  his 
election,  and  the  last  year  thereof  an  inhabitant  of  the  dis 
trict  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen,  unless  he  shall  have 
been  absent  on  the  public  business  of  the  United  States 
or  of  this  State;  and  no  person  elected  as  aforesaid  shall 
hold  said  office  after  he  shall  have  removed  from  such 
district. 

9.  The  senators  who  may  be  elected  at  the  first  gene 
ral  election  after  the  adoption  of  the  amendments  to  the 
Constitution,  shall  be  divided  by  lot  into  three  classes. 
The  seats  of  the  senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vaca 
ted  at  the  expiration  of  the  first  year;  of  the  second  class 
at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year ;  and  of  the  third 
class  at  the  expiration  of  the  third  year;  so  that  thereafter 
one-third  of  the  whole  number  of  senators  may  be  chosen 
every  year.     The  senators  elected  before  the  amendments 
to   the    Constitution  shall  be    adopted   shall    hold   their 
offices  during  the  terms  for  which  they  shall  respectively 
have  been  elected. 

10.  The   general   Assembly  shall   meet   on   the   first 
Tuesday  of  January,  in  every  year,  unless  sooner  con 
vened  by  the  governor. 

11.  Each  House  shall  choose   its  speaker   and  other 
officers;  and  the  Senate  shall  also  choose  a  speaker  pro 
tern  pore,  when  the  speaker  shall  exercise  the  office  of 
Governor. 

12.  Each  House  shall  judge  of  the  qualifications  of  its 
members.     Contested  elections  shall  be  determined  by  a 
committee  to  be  selected,  formed  and  regulated  in  such 
manner  as  shall  be  directed  by  law.     A  majority  of  each 
House   shall   constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business;  but  a 
smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  may 
be  authorized  by  law  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent 

10*  F 


CONSTITUTION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

members,  in  such  manner  and  under  such  penalties  as 
may  be  provided. 

13.  Each  House  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  pro 
ceedings,  punish  its  members    for   disorderly    behavior, 
and  with  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds,  expel  a  member, 
but  not  a  second  time  for  the  same  cause  ;  and  shall  have 
all  other  powers  necessary  for  a  branch  of  the  legislature 
of  a  free  State. 

14.  The  legislature  shall  not  have  power  to  enact  laws 
annulling  the  contract  of  marriage  in  any  case  where,  by 
law,  the  courts  of  this    commonwealth  are,  or  hereafter 
may  be,  empowered  to  decree  a  divorce. 

15.  Each  House  shall  keep  a  journal   of  its   proceed 
ings,    and  publish  them   weekly,  except  such    parts   as 
may  require  secrecy:  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  mem 
bers   on  any  question  shall,  at  the  desire  of  any   two  of 
them,  be  entered  on  the  journals. 

16.  The  doors  of  each  House  and  of  committees  of  the 
whole  shall  be  open,  unless  when  the  business  shall  be 
such  as  ought  to  be  kept  secret. 

17.  Neither   House  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the 
other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other 
place  than  that  in  which  the  two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

18.  The   senators  and  representatives  shall  receive  a 
compensation  for  their  services  to  be  ascertained  by  law, 
and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  commonwealth.  They 
shall  in  all  cases,  except  treason,  felony,  and  breach  or 
surety  of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their 
attendance  at  the  session  of  their  respective  Houses,  and 
in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same.     And  for  any 
speech  or  debate  in  either  House,  they  shall  not  be  ques 
tioned  in  any  other  place. 

19.  No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time 
for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  be  appointed  to  any 
civil  office  under  this   commonwealth   which   shall  have 
been  created,  or  the  emoluments  of  which  shall  have  been 
increased  during  such  time  ;  and  no  member  of  Congress 
or  other  person  holding  any  office,  (except  of  attorney  at 
law  and  in  the  militia)  under  the   United   States   or  this 
commonwealth,  shall  be  a  member  of  either  House  du 
ring  his  continuance  in  Congress  or  in  office. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA.  1  1  5 

20.  When    vacancies  happen   in    either    House,    the 
speaker  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such  vacancies. 

21.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  but  the   Senate  may  propose 
amendments  as  in  other  bills. 

22.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  but  in 
consequence  of  appropriations  made  by  law. 

23.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  both  Houses 
shall  be  presented   to  the  Governor.     If  he  approve,  he 
shall  sign  it,  but  if  he  shall  not  approve,  he  shall  return  it 
with  his  objections  to  the  House  in  which  it  shall  have 
originated,  who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  upon  their 
journals,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If,  after  such  recon 
sideration,  two-thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree  to  pass  the 
bill,  it  shall  be  sent  with  the  objections  to  the  other  House, 
by  which  likewise  its-hall  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved 
by  two-thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall  bealaw.    But  in  such 
cases  the  votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas 
and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  or  against 
the  bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  journals  of  each  House  re 
spectively.     If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  Go 
vernor  within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall 
have   been   presented   to  him,  it  shall   be  a  law   in  like 
manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  general    As 
sembly,  by  their   adjournment,  prevented  its   return,  in 
which  case  it  shall  be  a  law,  unless  sent  back  within  three 
days  after  their  next  meeting. 

24.  Every  order,  resolution  or  vote,  to  which  the  con 
currence  of  both  Houses  may  be  necessary  (except  on  a 
question  of  adjournment)  shall  be  presented  to  the  Go 
vernor,  and  before  it  shall  take   effect,  be   approved  by 
him,   or   being   disapproved,  shall    be  repassed  by  two- 
thirds  of  both  Houses  according  to  the  rules  and  limita 
tions  prescribed  in  case  of  a  bill. 

25.  No  corporate  body  shall  be  hereafter  created,  re 
newed  or  extended  with  banking  or  discounting  privi 
leges,  without  six  months'  previous  public  notice  of  the 
intended  application  for  the  same  in  such  manner  as  shall 
be  prescribed  by  law.     Nor  shall  any  charter  for  the  pur 
poses  aforesaid,  be  granted  for  a  longer  period  than  twen 
ty  years,  and  every  such  charter  shall  contain  a  clause  re- 


116  CONSTITUTION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

serving  to  the  legislature  the  power  to  alter,  revoke  or 
annul  the  same,  whenever  in  their  opinion  it  may  be  in 
jurious  to  the  citizens  of  the  commonwealth,  in  such  man 
ner,  however,  that  no  injustice  shall  be  done  to  the  cor 
porators.  No  law  hereafter  enacted,  shall  create,  renew, 
or  extend  the  charter  of  more  than  one  corporation. 

ARTICLE  2. 

SEC.  1.  The  supreme  executive  power   of  this  com 
monwealth  shall  be  vested  in  a  Governor. 

2.  The  Governor  shall  be  chosen  on  the  second  Tues 
day  of  October,  by  the  citizens  of  the  commonwealth,  at 
the  places  where  they  shall  respectively  vote  for  repre 
sentatives.     The  returns  of  every  election  for  Governor 
shall  be  sealed  up  and  transmitted  to  the  seat  of  govern 
ment,  directed  to  the  speaker  of  the   Senate,  who  shall 
open  and  publish  them  in  the  presence  of  the  members  of 
both  Houses  of  the  legislature.     The   person  having  the 
highest  number  of  votes  shall  be  Governor.     But  if  two 
or  more  shall  be  equal  and  highest  in  votes,  one  of  them 
shall  be  chosen  Governor  by  the  joint  vote  of  the  mem 
bers  of  both  Houses.     Contested  elections  shall  be  de 
termined  by  a  committee  to  be  selected  from  both  Houses 
of  the  legislature,  and  formed  and  regulated  in  such  man 
ner  as  shall  be  directed  by  law. 

3.  The  Governor   shall   hold  his   office  during  three 
years  from  the  third  Tuesday   of  January  next  ensuing 
his  election,  and  shall  not  be  capable  of  holding  it  longer 
than  six  in  any  term  of  nine  years. 

4.  He  shall  be  at  least  thirty  years  of  age,  and  have 
been  a  citizen  and  an  inhabitant  of  this  State  seven  year? 
next  before  his  election ;  unless  he  shall  have  been  ab 
sent  on  the  public  business  of  the   United  States,  or  of 
this  State. 

5.  No  member  of  Congress  or  person  holding  any  of 
fice  under  the  United  States,  or  this  State,  shall  exercise 
the  office  of  Governor. 

6.  The  Governor  shall  at  stated  times  receive  for  his 
services  a  compensation,  which  shall  be  neither  increased 
nor  diminished  during  the  period  for  which  he  shall  have 
been  elected. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA.  117 

7.  He  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  Army  and 
Navy  of  this  commonwealth,  and  of  the  militia,  except 
when  they  shall  be  called  into  the  actual  service  of  the 
United  States. 

8.  He  shall  appoint  a  secretary  of  the  commonwealth 
during  pleasure,  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  appoint  all  judicial 
officers  of  courts  of  record,  unless  otherwise  provided  for 
in  this  Constitution.     He  shall  have  power  to  fill  all  va 
cancies  that  may  happen  in  such  judicial  offices   during 
the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  commissions  which 
shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next  session  :  Provided, 
that  in  acting  on  executive  nominations  the  Senate  shall 
sit  with  open  doors,  and  in  confirming  or  rejecting  the 
nominations  of  the  Governor,  the  vote  shall  be  taken  by 
yeas  and  nays. 

9.  He  shall  have  power  to  remit  fines  and  forfeitures, 
and  grant  reprieves  and  pardons,  except  in  cases  of  im 
peachment. 

10.  He  may  require  information  in  writing,  from  the 
officers  in  the  executive  department,  on  any  subject  re 
lating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices. 

11.  He  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  general 
Assembly  information  of  the  state  of  the  commonwealth, 
and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as 
he  shall  judge  expedient. 

12.  He  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  convene  the 
general  Assembly  ;  and  in  case  of  disagreement  between 
the  two  Houses,  with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment, 
adjourn  them  to  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper,  not 
exceeding  four  months. 

13.  He  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  exe 
cuted. 

14.  In  case  of  the  death  or  resignation  of  the  Gover 
nor,  or  his  removal  from  office,  the  speaker  of  the  Senate 
shall  exercise  the  office  of  Governor,  until  another  Gover 
nor  shall  be  duly  qualified  ;  but  in  such  case  another  Gover 
nor  shall  be  chosen  at  the  next  annual  election  of  repre 
sentatives,   unless   such   death,  resignation,   or  removal, 
shall  occur  within  three  calendar  months  immediately  pre 
ceding  such  next  annual  election,  in  which  case  a  Governor 


H8  CONSTITUTION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

shall  be  chosen  at  the  second  succeeding  annual  election 
of  representatives.  And  if  the  trial  of  a  contested  elec 
tion  shall  continue  longer  than  until  the  third  Monday  of 
January  next  ensuing  the  election  of  Governor,  the  Go 
vernor  of  the  last  year,  or  the  speaker  of  the  Senate  who 
may  he  in  the  exercise  of  the  executive  authority,  shall 
continue  therein  until  the  determination  of  such  contested 
election,  and  until  a  Governor  shall  be  duly  qualified  as 
aforesaid. 

15.  The  secretary  of  the  commonwealth  shall  keep  a 
fair  register  of  all  the  official  acts  and  proceedings  of  the 
Governor,  and  shall,  when  required,  lay  the  same  and 
all  papers,  minutes  and  vouchers  relative  thereto,  before 
either  branch  of  the  legislature,  and  shall  perform  such 
other  duties  as  shall  be  enjoined  him  by  law. 

ARTICLE  3. 

SEC.  1.  In  elections  by  the  citizens,  every  white  free 
man  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  having  resided  in 
this  State  one  year,  and  in  the  election  district  where  he 
offers  to  vote,  ten  days  immediately  preceding  such  elec 
tion,  and  within  two  years  paid  a  State  or  county  tax, 
which  shall  have  been  assessed  at  least  ten  days  before 
the  election,  shall  enjoy  the  rights  of  an  elector.  But  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  who  had  previously  been  a 
qualified  voter  of  this  State,  and  removed  therefrom  and 
returned,  and  who  shall  have  resided  in  the  election  dis 
trict,  and  paid  taxes  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote, 
after  residing  in  the  State  six  months :  Provided,  that 
white  freemen,  citizens  of  the  United  States,  between  the 
ages  of  twenty-one  and  twenty-two  years,  and  having  re 
sided  in  the  State  one  year,  and  in  the  election  district 
ten  days  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote,  although 
they  shall  not  have  paid  taxes. 

2.  All  elections  shall  be  by  ballot,  except  those  by  per 
sons  in  their   representative   capacities,  who   shall   rote 
viva  voce. 

3.  Electors  shall  in  all  cases,  except  treason,  felony, 
and  breach  of  surety  of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  ar 
rest  during  their  attendance  on  elections,  and  in  going  to 
and  returning  from  them. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA.  11^ 

ARTICLE  4. 

SEC.  1.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  have  the 
sole  power  of  impeaching. 

2.  All   impeachments   shall   be  tried   by  the    Senate : 
when  sitting  for  that  purpose,  the  senators  shall  be  upon 
oath  or  affirmation.     No  person  shall  be  convicted,  with 
out  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

3.  The  Governor,  and  all   other   civil   officers  under 
this  commonwealth,  shall  be  liable  to  impeachment  for 
any  misdemeanor  in  office  ;  but  judgment,  in  such  cases, 
shall  not  extend  further  than  to  removal  from  office,  and 
disqualification  to  hold  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  pro 
fit,  under  this  commonwealth  :  the  party,  whether  con 
victed  or  acquitted,  shall,  nevertheless,  ba  liable  to  in 
dictment,  trial,  judgment   and  punishment,  according  to 
law. 

ARTICLE  5. 

SEC.  1.  The  judicial  power  of  this  commonwealth 
shall  be  vested  in  a  supreme  court,  in  courts  of  oyer  and 
terminer  and  general  jail  delivery,  in  a  court  of  common 
pleas,  orphans'  court,  register's  court,  and  a  court  of 
quarter  sessions  of  the  peace,  for  each  county;  in  jus 
tices  of  the  peace,  and  in  such  other  courts  as  the  legisla 
ture  may,  from  time  to  time  establish. 

2.  The  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  of  the  several 
courts  of  common  pleas,  and  of  such  other  courts  of  re 
cord  as  are  or  shall  be  established  by  law,  shall  be  nomina 
ted  by  the  Governor,  and  by  and  with  the  consent  of  the 
Senate  appointed  and  commissioned  by  him.  The 
judges  of  the  supreme  court  shall  hold  their  offices  for 
the  term  of  fifteen  years,  if  they  shall  so  long  behave 
themselves  well.  The  president  judges  of  the  several 
courts  of  common  pleas,  and  of  such  other  courts  of  record 
as  are  or  shall  be  established  by  law,  and  all  other  judges 
required  to  be  learned  in  the  law»  shall  hold  their  offices 
for  the  term  of  ten  years,  if  they  shall  so  long  behave 
themselves  well.  The  associate  judges  of  the  courts  of 
common  pleas  shall  hold  their  offices  for  the  term  of  five 
years,  if  they  shall  so  long  behave  themselves  well.  But 
fo/  any  reasonable  cause,  which  shall  not  be  sufficient 


120  CONSTITUTION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

ground  of  impeachment,  the  Governor  may  remove  any 
of  them  on  the  address  of  two-thirds  of  each  branch  of 
the  legislature.  The  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  and 
the  presidents  of  the  several  courts  of  common  pleas, 
shall  at  stated  times  receive  for  their  services  an  adequate 
compensation  to  be  fixed  by  law,  which  shall  not  be  di 
minished  during  their  continuance  in  office ;  but  they 
shall  receive  no  fees  or  perquisites  of  office,  nor  hold  any 
other  office  of  profit  under  this  commonwealth. 

3.  Until  otherwise  directed  by  law,  the  courts  of  com 
mon  pleas  shall  continue  as  at  present  established.     Not 
more  than  five  counties  shall  at  any  time  be  included  in 
one  judicial  district  organized  for  said  courts. 

4.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  supreme  court  shall  extend 
over  the  State  ;  and  the  judges  thereof  shall,  by  virtue  of 
their  offices,  be  justices  of  oyer  and  terminer  and  general 
jail  delivery,  in  the  several  counties. 

5.  The  judges  of  the  court  of  common  pleas,  in  each 
county,  shall,  by  virtue  of  their  offices,  be  justices  of  oyer 
and  terminer  and  general  jail  delivery,  for  the  trial  of 
capital   and    other  offenders    therein ;  any   two   of  said 
judges,  the  president  being  one,  shall  be  a  quorum  ;  but 
they  shall  not  hold  a  court  of  oyer  and  terminer,  or  jail 
delivery,  in  any  county,  when  the  judges  of  the  supreme 
court,  or  any  of  them  shall  be  sitting  in  the  same  county. 
The  party  accused,  as  well  as  the  commonwealth,  may, 
under  such  regulations  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  law,  re 
move    the  indictment   and    proceedings,  or  a  transcript 
thereof,  into  the  supreme  court. 

6.  The  supreme  court,  and  the  several  courts  of  com 
mon   pleas,  shall,  beside  the  powers  heretofore  usually 
exercised  by  them,  have  the  powers  of  a  court  of  chance 
ry,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  perpetuating  of  testimony,  the 
obtaining  of  evidence  from  places  not  within  the  State, 
and  the  care  of  the  persons  and  estates  of  those  who  are 
non  compotes  mentis.     And  the  legislature  shall  vest  in 
the  said  courts  such  other  powers  to  grant  relief  in  equity, 
as  shall  be  found  necessary;  and  may,  from  time  to  time, 
enlarge  or  diminish  those  powers  or  vest  them  in 
other  courts  as  they  shall  judge  proper,  for  the  due 
ministration  of  justice. 


CONSTITUTION  OF    PENNSYLVANIA.  1U 

7.  The  judges  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  of  each 
county,  any  two  of  whom  shall  be  a  quorum,  shall  com 
pose  the  court  of  quarter  sessions  of  the  peace,  and  or 
phans'  court  thereof;  and  the  register  of  wills,  together 
with  the  said  judges,  or  any  two  of  them,  shall  compose 
the  register's  court  of  each  county. 

8.  The  judges  of  the  courts  of  common  pleas  shall, 
within   their  respective  counties,  have  like  powers  with 
the  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  to  issue  writs  of  certio- 
rari  to  the  justices  of  the  peace,  and  to  cause  their  pro 
ceedings  to  be  brought  before   them,  and  the  like  right 
and  justice  to  be  done. 

9.  The  president  of  the  court  in  each  circuit  within 
such  circuit,  and  the  judges  of  the  court  of  common  pleas 
within  their  respective  counties,  shall  be  justices   of  the 
peace,  so  far  as  relates  to  criminal  matters. 

10.  A  register's   office,   for  the   probate  of  wills  and 
granting  letters  of  administration,  and  an  office  for  there- 
cording  of  deeds,  shall  be  kept  in  each  county. 

11.  The  style  of  all  process  shall  be  "  The  Common 
wealth  of  Pennsylvania."     All  prosecutions  shall  be  car 
ried  on  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  common 
wealth  of  Pennsylvania,  and  conclude,  "  against  the  peace 
and  dignity  of  the  same." 

ARTICLE  6. 

SEC.  1.  Sheriffs  and  coroners  shall,  at  the  times  and 
places  of  election  of  representatives,  be  chosen  by  the 
citizens  of  each  county.  One  person  shall  be  chosen  for 
each  office,  who  shall  be  commissioned  by  the  Governor. 
They  shall  hold  their  offices  for  three  years,  if  they  shall 
so  long  behave  themselves  well,  and  until  a  successor  be 
duly  qualified  ;  but  no  person  shall  be  twice  chosen  or 
appointed  sheriff  in  any  term  of  six  years.  Vacancies  in 
either  of  the  said  offices  shall  be  filled  by  an  appointment, 
to  be  made  by  the  Governor,  to  continue  until  the  next 
general  election,  and  until  a  successor  shall  be  chosen  and 
qualified  as  aforesaid. 

2.  The  freemen  of  this  commonwealth  shall  be  armed, 
ovganized.  and  disciplined  for  its  defence,  when  and  in 
such  manner  as  mnv  be  directed  by  law.  Those  who 
11 


CONSTITUTION  OP  PENNSYLVANIA. 

conscientiously  scruple  to  bear  arms,  shall  not  be  com 
pelled  to  do  so,  but  shall  pay  an  equivalent  for  personal 
service. 

3.  Prothonotaries  of  the  supreme  court  shall  be  ap 
pointed  by  the  said  court  for  the  term  of  three  years,  if 
they  so  long  behave  themselves  well.  Prothonotaries 
and  clerks  of  the  several  other  courts,  recorders  of  deeds, 
and  registers  of  wills,  shall  at  the  times  and  places  of 
election  of  representatives,  be  elected  by  the  qualified 
electors  of  each  county,  or  the  districts  over  which  the 
•jurisdiction  of  said  courts  extends,  and  shall  be  commis- 
oned  by  the  governor.  They  shall  hold  their  offices 
lor  three  years,  if  they  shall  so  long  behave  themselves 
well,  and  until  their  successors  shall  be  duly  qualified. 
The  legislature  shall  provide  by  law  the  number  of  per 
sons  in  each  county  who  shall  hold  said  offices,  and  how 
many  and  which  of  said  offices  shall  be  held  by  one  per 
son.  Vacancies  in  any  of  the  said  offices  shall  be  filled 
by  appointments  to  be  made  by  the  Governor,  to  con 
tinue  until  the  next  general  election,  and  until  successors 
Shall  be  elected  and  qualified  as  aforesaid. 

4.  Prothonotaries,  clerks  of  the   peace  and  orphans' 
courts,  recorders  of  deeds,  registers  of  wills,  and  sheriffs, 
shall  keep  their  offices  in  the  county  town  of  the  county 
in  which  they,  respectively,  shall  be  officers,  unless  when 
the  Governor  shall,  for  special  reasons,  dispense  therewith, 
lor  any  term  not  exceeding  five  years  after  the  county 
shall  have  been  erected. 

5.  All  commissions  shall  be  in  the  name  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  and  be 
sealed  with  the  state  seal,  and  signed  by  the  Governor. 

6.  A  state  treasurer  shall  be  elected  annually,  by  joint 
vote  of  both  branches  of  the  legislature. 

7.  Justices  of  the  peace  or  aldermen,  shall  be  elected 
in  the  several  wards,  boroughs  and  townships,  at  the  time 
of  the  election  of  constables  by  the  qualified  voters  thereof, 
in  such  number  as  shall  be  directed  by  law,  and  shall  be 
commissioned  by  the   Governor  for  a  term  of  five  years. 
But  no  township,  ward  or  borough,  shall  elect  more  than 
two  justices  of  the  peace  or  aldermen  without  the  consent 


CONSTITUTION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA.  123 

of  a  majority  of  the  qualified  electors  within  such  town 
ship,  ward  or  borough. 

8.  All  officers   whose  election  or  appointment  is  nut 
provided  for  in  this  constitution,  shall   be  elected  or  ap 
pointed  as  shall  be  directed  by  law.     No  person  shall  be 
appointed  to  any  office  within  any  county  who  shall  not 
have  been  a  citizen  and  an  inhabitant  therein  one  year 
next  before  his  appointment,  if  the  county  shall  have  been 
so  long  erected;  but  if  it  shall  not  have  been  so  long 
erected,  then  within  the  limits  of  the  county  or  counties 
out  of  which  it  shall  have  been  taken.     No  member  of 
Congress  from  this  state,  or  any  person  holding  or  exer 
cising  any  office  or  appointment  of  trust  or  profit  under 
the  United  States,  shall  at  the  same  time  hold  or  exercise 
any  office  in  this   State,  to  which  a  salary  is,  or  fees  or 
perquisites  are,  by  law,  annexed  ;  and  the  legislature  may 
by  law  declare  what  state  offices  are  incompatible.     No 
member  of  the  Senate  or  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  Governor  to  any  office  during 
the  term  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected. 

9.  All  officers  for  a  term  of  years  shall  hold  their  offices 
for  the  terms  respectively  specified,  only  on  the  condition 
that  they  so  long  behave  themselves  well ;   and  shall  be 
removed  on  conviction  of  misbehaviour  in  office  or  of  any 
infamous  crime. 

10.  Any  person  who  shall,  after  the  adoption  of  the 
amendments  proposed  by  this  Convention  to  the  Consti 
tution,  fight  a  duel,  or  send  a  challenge  for  that  purpose, 
or  be  aider  or  abettor  in  fighting  a  duel,  shall  be  deprived 
of  the   right  of  holding  any  office  of  honor  or  profit  in 
this  State,  and  shall  be  punished  otherwise  in  such  man 
ner  as  is,  or  may  be  prescribed  by  law  ;  but  the  executive 
may  remit  the  said  offence  and  all  its  disqualifications. 

ARTICLE  7. 

SEC.  1.  The  legislature  shall,  as  soon  as  conveniently 
may  be,  provide,  by  law,  for  the  establishment  of  schools 
throughout  the  State,  in  such  manner  that  the  pool  may 
be  taught  gratis. 

2.  The  arts  and  sciences  shall  be  promoted  in  one  or 
more  seminaries  of  learning. 


124  CONSTITUTION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

3.  The  rights,  privileges,  immunities  and  estates  of 
religious  societies  and  corporate  bodies,  shall  remain  as 
if  the  Constitution  of  this  State  had  not  been  altered  or 
amended. 

4.  The  legislature  shall  not  invest  any  corporate  body 
or  individual  with  the  privilege  of  taking  private  property 
for  public  use,  without  requiring  such  corporation  or  in 
dividual  to  make  compensation  to  the  owners  of  said  pro 
perty,  or  give  adequate  security  therefor,  before  such  pro 
perty  shall  be  taken. 

ARTICLE  8. 

Members  of  the  general  Assembly  and  all  officers,  ex 
ecutive  and  judicial,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation 
to  support  the  Constitution  of  this  commonwealth,  and 
to  perform  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices  with 
fidelity. 

ARTICLE  9. 

That  the  general,  great  and  essential  principles  of  liberty  and 
free  government  may  be  recognized  and  unalterably  established, 
we  declare: 

1.  That  all  men  are  born  equally  free  and  independent, 
and  have  certain  inherent  and  indefeasible  rights,  among 
which  are  those  of  enjoying  and  defending  life  and  liberty, 
of  acquiring,  possessing,   and    protecting   property  and 
reputation,  and  of  pursuing  their  own  happiness. 

2.  That  all  power  is  inherent  in   the   people,  and  all 
free  governments  are  founded  on  their  authority,  and  in 
stituted  for  their  peace,  safety,  and  happiness :  For  the 
advancement  of  those  ends,  they  have,  at  all  times,  an 
unalienable   and   indefeasible   right  to   alter,   reform,  or 
abolish  their  government,  in  such  manner  as  they  may 
think  proper 

3.  That  all  men  have  a  natural  and  indefeasible  right 
to  worship  Almighty  God  according  to   the  dictates  of 
their  own  consciences  ;  that  no  man  can,  of  right,  be  com 
pelled  to  attend,  erect,  or  support  any  place  of  worship, 
or  to  maintain  any  ministry  against  his  consent;   that  no 
human  authority  can,  in   any  case  whatever,  control   n» 
interfere  with  the  right?  of  conscience  ;   and  that  no  pre- 


CONSTITUTION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA.  145 

ference  shall   ever  be   given,  by  law,  to   any  religious 
establishments  or  modes  of  worship. 

4.  That  no  person  who  acknowledges  the  being  of  a 
God  and  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments,  shall, 
on  account  of  his  religious  sentiments,  be  disqualified  to 
hold  any  office  or  place  of  trust  or  profit  under  this  com 
monwealth. 

5.  That  elections  shall  be  free  and  equal. 

6.  That  trial  by  jury  shall  be  as  heretofore,  and  the 
right  thereof  remain  inviolate. 

7.  That  the  printing  presses  shall  be  free  to  every  per 
son  who  undertakes  to  examine  the  proceedings  of  the 
legislature  or  any  branch  of  government :  and  no  law  shall 
ever  be  made   to  restrain  the  right  thereof.     The  free 
communication   of  thoughts  -and  opinions  is  one  of  the 
invaluable  rights   of  man ;   and  every  citizen  may  freely 
speak,  write  and  print  on  any  subject,  being  responsible 
for  the   abuse   of  that  liberty.     In  prosecutions  for  the 
publication  of  papers,  investigating  the  official  conduct  of 
officers,  or  men  in  a  public  capacity,  or  where  the  matter 
published  is  proper  for  public  information,  the  truth  there 
of  may  be  given  in  evidence ;   and,  in  all  indictments  for 
libels,  the  jury  shall  have  a  right  to  determine  the  law 
and  the  facts,  under  the  direction  of  the  court,  as  in  other 
cases. 

8.  That  the  people  shall  be  secure  in  their  persons, 
houses,    papers    and     possessions,    from    unreasonable 
searches  and  seizures ;  and  that  no  warrant  to  search  any 
place,  or  to  seize  any  person  or  things,  shall  issue  with 
out  describing  them  as  nearly  as   may  be,  nor  without 
probable  cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation. 

9.  That  in  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  hath 
a  right  to  be  heard  by  himself  and  his  counsel,  to  demand 
the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation   against  him,  to 
meet  the  witnesses  face  to  face,  to  have  compulsory  pro 
cess  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  in  prosecu 
tions  by  indictment  or  information,  a  speedy  trial  by  an 
fin  partial  jury  of  the  vicinage:  that  he  cannot  be  compel 
led  to  give  evidence  against  himself,  nor  can  he  be  de 
prived  of  his  life,  liberty  or  property,  unless  by  the  judg 
ment  of  his  peers  or  the  law  of  the  land. 


115 (j  CONSTITUTION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

10.  That  no  person  shall,  for  any  indictable  offence, 
be  proceeded  against  criminally  by  information  ;   except 
in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia 
when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger; 
or  by  leave  of  the  court  for  oppression  and  misdemeanor 
in  office.     No  person  shall  for  the  same  offence  be  twice 
put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb  ;  nor  shall  any  man's  pro 
perty  be  taken,  or  applied  to  public  use,  without  the  consent 
of  his  representatives,  and  without  just  compensation  be 
ing  made. 

11.  That  all  courts  shall  be  open,  and  every  man  for 
an  injury  done  him  in  his  lands,  goods,  person  or  repu 
tation,  shall  have  remedy  by  the  due  course  of  law,  and 
right  and  justice  administered  without  sale,  denial  or  de 
lay.     Suits  may  be  brought  against  the  commonwealth 
in  such  manner,  in  such  courts,  and  in  such  cases,  as  the 
legislature  may,  by  law,  direct. 

12.  That  no  power  of  suspending  laws  shall  be  exer 
cised,  unless  by  the  legislature,  or  its  authority. 

13.  That  excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  ex 
cessive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  punishments  inflicted. 

14.  That  all  prisoners  shall  be  bailable  by  sufficient 
sureties,  unless  for  capital  offences,  when  the  proof  is 
evident  or  presumption  great:   and  the  privilege  of  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus   shall  not  be  suspended,  unless 
when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public  safety 
may  require  it. 

15.  That  no  commission  of  oyer  and  terminer  or  jail 
delivery  shall  be  issued. 

16.  That  the  person  of  a  debtor,  where  there  is  not 
strong  presumption  of  fraud,  shall  not  be  continued  in 
prison  after  delivering  up  his  estate  for  the  benefit  of  his 
creditors  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  law. 

17.  That  no  ex  post  facto  law,  nor  any  law  impairing 
contracts,  shall  be  made. 

18.  That  no  person  shall  be  attainted  of  treason  or  felo 
ny  by  the  legislature. 

19.  That  no  attainder  shall  work  corruption  of  blood  ; 
nor,  except  during  the  life  of  the  offender,  forfeiture  of 
estate  to  the  common  wealth  :  that  the  estates  of  such  per 
sons  as   shall   destroy  their  own  lives,  shall  descend  or 


CONSTITUTION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA.  127 

vest  as  in  case  of  natural  death  ;  and  if  any  person  shall 
be  killed  by  casualty,  there  shall  be  no  forfeiture  by  reason 
thereof. 

20.  That  the  citizens  have  a  right,  in  a  peaceful  man 
ner,  to  assemble  together  for  their  common  good,  and  to 
apply  to  those  invested  with  the  powers  of  government 
for  redress  of  grievances,  or  other  proper  purposes,  by 
petition,  redress,  or  remonstrance. 

21.  That  the  right  of  the  citizens  to  bear  arms,  in  de 
fence  of  themselves  and  the  State,  shall  not  be  questioned. 

22.  That  no  standing  army  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be 
kept  up,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislature;  and  the 
military  shall,  in  all  cases,  and  at  all  times,  be  in  strict 
subordination  to  the  civil  power. 

23.  That  no  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quarter 
ed  in  any  house,  without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor 
in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

24.  That  the  legislature  shall  not  grant  any  title  of  no 
bility  or  hereditary  distinction,  nor  create  any  office  the 
appointment  to  which  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  du 
ring  good  behaviour. 

25.  That  emigration  from  the  State  shall  not  be  pro 
hibited. 

26.  To  guard  against  transgressions  of  the  high  pow 
ers  which   we  have  delegated,   we    declare,  that  every 
thing  in  this  article  is  excepted  out  of  the  general  powers 
of  government,  and  shall  forever  remain  inviolate. 

ARTICLK  10. 

Any  amendment  or  amendments  to  this  Constitution  may 
be  proposed  in  the  Senate  or  House  of  Representatives, 
and  if  the  same  shall  be  agreed  to  by  a  majority  of  the 
members  elected  to  each  house,  such  proposed  amend 
ment  or  amendments  shall  be  entered  on  their  journals, 
with  the  yeas  and  nays  taken  thereon,  and  the  secretary 
of  the  commonwealth  shall  cause  the  same  to  be  publish 
ed  three  months  before  the  next  election,  in  at  least  one 
newspaper  in  every  county  in  which  a  newspaper  shall 
be  published  ;  and  if  in  the  legislature  next  afterwards 
chosen,  such  proposed  amendment  or  amendments  shall 
be  agreed  to  by  a  majority  of  the  members  elected  to 


128  CONSTITUTION  OF  VIRGINIA. 

each  House,  the  secretary  of  the  commonwealth  shall 
cause  the  game  again  to  be  published  in  manner  aforesaid, 
2-nd  such  proposed  amendment  or  amendments  shall  be 
submitted  to  the  people  fa  such  manner  and  at  such  time, 
at  least  three  months  after  being  so  agreed  to  by  the  two 
Houses,  as  the  legislature  shall  prescribe;  and  if  the  peo 
ple  shall  approve  and  ratify  such  amendment  or  amend 
ments  by  a  majority  of  the  qualified  voters  of  this  State 
voting  thereon,  such  amendment  or  amendments  shall 
become  a  part  of  the  Constitution,  but  no  amendment  or 
amendments  shall  be  submitted  to  the  people  oftener  than 
once  in  five  years  :  Provided,  that  if  more  than  one 
amendment  be  submitted,  they  shall  be  submitted  in  such 
manner  and  form,  that  the  people  may  vote  for  or  against 
each  amendment  separately  and  distinctly. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  VIRGINIA. 

BILL  OF  RIGHTS. 

A  Declaration  of  Rights  made  by  the  Representatives  of  the  good 
People  of  VIRGINIA,  assembled  in  full  and  free  Convention  ; 
which  rights  do  pertain  to  them,  and  their  Posterity,  as  the  ba 
sis  and  foundation  of  Government.  Unanimously  adopted, 
June  12th,  1776. 

1.  That  all  men  are  by  nature  equally  free  and  inde 
pendent,  and  have  certain  inherent  rights,  of  which,  when 
they  enter  into  a  state  of  society,  they  cannot,  by  any 
compact,  deprive  or  divest  their  posterity  ;  namely,  the 
enjoyment  of  life  and  liberty,  with  the  means  of  acquiring 
and  possessing  property,  and  pursuing  and  obtaining  hap 
piness  and  safety. 

2.  That  all  power  is   vested  in,  and  consequently  de 
rived  from,  the  people  ;  that  magistrates  are  their  trustees 
and  servants,  and  at  all  times  amenable  to  them. 

3.  That   government  is,  or  ought  to  be,  instituted  for 
the  common  benefit,  protection,  and  security  of  the  peo 
ple,  nation,  or  community  :  of  all  the  various  modes  and 


CONSTITUTION    OF    VIRGINIA.  129 

forms  of  government,  that  is  best,  which  is  capable  of  pro 
ducing  the  greatest  degree  of  happiness  and  safety,  and  is 
most  effectually  secured  against  the  danger  of  maladminis 
tration  ;  and  that,  when  any  government  shall  be  found 
inadequate  or  contrary  to  these  purposes,  a  majority  of 
the  community  hath  an  indubitable,  unalienable,  and  inde 
feasible  right  to  reform,  alter,  or  abolish  it,  in  such  manner 
as  shall  be  judged  most  conducive  to  the  public  weal. 

4.  That  no  man,  or  set  of  men,  are  entitled  to  exclu 
sive  or  separate  emoluments  or  privileges  from  the  com 
munity,  but  in  consideration  of  public   services ;  which 
not  being  descendible,  neither  ought  the  offices  of  ma 
gistrate,  legislator,  or  judge  to  be  hereditary. 

5.  That  the  legislative  and  executive  powers   of  the 
State  should  be  separate  and  distinct  from  the  judiciary  ; 
and  that  the  members  of  the  two  first  may  be  restrained 
from  oppression,  by  feeling  and  participating  the  burthens 
of  the  people,  they  should,  at  fixed  periods,  be  reduced  to 
a  private  station,  return  into  that  body  from  which  they 
were  originally  taken,  and  the  vacancies  be  supplied  by 
frequent,  certain,  and  regular  elections,  in  which  all,  or 
any  part  of  the  former  members,  to  be  again  eligible,  or 
ineligible,  as  the  laws  shall  direct. 

6.  That  elections  of  members  to  serve  as  representa 
tives  of  the  people,  in  Assembly,  ought  to  be  free  ;  and 
that  all  men  having  sufficient  evidence  of  permanent  com 
mon  interest  with,   and   attachment  to,  the  community, 
hate  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  cannot  be  taxed  or  deprived 
of  their  property  for  public  uses,  without  their  own  con 
sent,  or  that  of  their  representatives  so  elected,  nor  bound 
by  any  law  to  which  they  have  not,  in  like  manner  as 
sented,  for  the  public  good. 

7.  That  all  power  of  suspending  laws,  or  the   execu 
tion  of  laws,  by  any  authority,  without  consent  of  the  re 
presentatives  of  the  people,  is  injurious  to  their  rights, 
and  ought  not  to  be  exercised. 

8.  That,  in  all  capital  or  criminal  prosecutions,  a  man 
hath  a  right  to  demand  the  cause  and  nature  of  his  accu 
sation,  to  be  confronted  with  the  accusers  and  witnesses, 
to  call  for  evidence  in  his  favor,  and  to  a  speedy   trial  by 
an  impartial  jury  of  his  vicinage,  without   whoso   unani- 

10* 


130  CONSTITUTION  OF  VIRGINIA. 

mous  consent  he  cannot  be  found  guilty;  nor  canhe  be  com. 
pelled  to  give  evidence  against  himself;  that  no  man  be 
deprived  of  his  liberty  except  by  the  law  of  the  land,  or 
the  judgment  of  his  peers. 

9.  That  excessive  bail  ought  not  to  be  required,  nor 
excessive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punish 
ments  inflicted. 

10.  That  general  warrants,  whereby  an  officer  or  mes 
senger   may  be   commanded   to   search   suspected  places 
without  evidence  of  a  fact  committed,  or  to  seize  any  per 
son  or  persons  not  named,  or  whose  offence  is  not  par 
ticularly  described  and  supported  by  evidence,  are  griev 
ous  and  oppressive,  and  ought  not  to  be  granted. 

11.  That,  in  controversies  respecting  property,  and  in 
suits  between  man  and  man,  the  ancient  trial  by  jury  is 
preferable  to  any  other,  and  ought  to  be  held  sacred. 

12.  That  the  freedom  of  the  press  is  one  of  the  great 
bulwarks  of  liberty,  and  can  never  be  restrained  but  by 
despotic  governments. 

1 3.  That  a  well  regulated  militia,  composed  of  the  body 
of  the  people,  trained  to  arms,  is  the  proper,  natural,  and 
safe  defence  of  a  fres  State  ;  that  standing  armies,  in  time 
of  peace,  should  be  avoided,  as  dangerous  to  liberty  ;  and 
that,  in  all  cases,  the  military  should  be  under  strict  subor 
dination  to,  and  governed  by,  the  civil  power. 

14.  That  the  people  have  a  right  to  uniform  govern 
ment  ;  and,  therefore,  that  no  government  separate  from, 
or  independent  of,  the  government  of   Virginia,  ought  to 
be  erected  or  established  within  the  limits  thereof. 

15.  That  no  free  government,  or  the  blessings  of  liber 
ty,  can  be  preserved  to  any  people,  but  by  a  firm  adhe 
rence   to  justice,  moderation,  temperance,  frugality,  and 
virtue,  and  by  frequent  recurrence  to  fundamental  princi 
ples. 

16.  That  religion,  or  the  duty  which   we  owe  to  our 
Creator,  and  the  manner  of  discharging  it,  can  be  directed 
only  by  reason  and  conviction,  not  by  force  or  violence ; 
and  therefore  all  men  are  equally  entitled  to  the  free  ex 
ercise  of  religion,  according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience, 
and  that  it  is  the  mutual  duty  of  all  to  practise  Christian 
forbearance,  love,  and  charity  towards  each  other. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  VIRGINIA.  131 

AN  AMENDED  CONSTITUTION, 

OR  FORM  OF  GOVERNMENT  FOR  VIRGINIA.       ADOPTED 
JANUARY  14TII,   1830. 

ARTICLE  1. 

The  Declaration  of  Rights  made  on  the  12th  June,  1776, 
by  the  representatives  of  the  good  people  of  Virginia, 
assembled  in  full  and  free  convention,  which  pertained  to 
them  and  their  posterity,  as  the  basis  and  foundation  of 
government;  requiring  in  the  opinion  of  this  Convention 
no  amendment,  shall  be  prefixed  to  this  Constitution,  and 
have  the  same  relation  thereto  as  it  had  to  the  former 
Constitution  of  this  commonwealth. 

ARTICLE  2. 

The  legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary  departments 
shall  be  separate  and  distinct,  so  that  neither  exercise  the 
powers  properly  belonging  to  either  of  the  others ;  nor 
shall  any  person  exercise  the  powers  of  more  than  one 
of  them  at  the  same  time,  except  that  the  justices  of  the 
county  courts  shall  be  eligible  to  either  House  of  Assembly. 

ARTICLE  3. 

1.  The   legislature    shall   be   formed   of  two    distinct 
branches,  which  together  shall  be  a  complete  legislature, 
and  shall  be  called  the  general  Assembly  of  Virginia. 

2.  One  of  these  shall  be  called  the  House  of  Delegates, 
and  shall  consist  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  members, 
to  be  chosen,  annually,  for  and  by  the  several  counties, 
cities,    towns,    and    boroughs,    of    the    commonwealth; 
whereof  thirty-one  delegates  shall  be  chosen  for  and  by 
the   twenty-six   counties   lying  west   of  the   Alleghany 
mountains :  twenty-five,  for  and  by  the  fourteen  coun 
ties   lying  between   the  Alleghany  and  Blue  Ridge  of 
mountains ;  forty-two,  for  and  by  the  twenty-nine  counties 
lying  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge  of  mountains  and  above  tide 
water,  and    thirty-six,  for  and    by  the   counties,  cities, 
towns,  and  boroughs  lying  upon  tide-water,  that  is  to  say : 
Of  the  twenty-six  counties  lying  west  of  the  Alleghany, 


132 


CONSTITUTION  OF    VIRCIXIA. 


the  counties  of  Harrison,  Montgomery,  Monongalia,  Ohio, 
and  Washington,  shall  each  elect  two  delegates ;  and  the 
counties  of  Brooke,  Cabell,  Grayson,  Greenbrier,  Giles, 
Kanawha,  Lee,  Lewis,  Logan,  Mason,  Monroe,  Nicho 
las,  Pocahontas,  Preston,  Randolph,  Russell,  Scott,  Taze- 
well,  Tyler,  Wood,  and  Wythe,  shall  each  elect  one 
delegate.  Of  the  fourteen  counties  lying  between  the 
Alleghany  and  Blue  Ridge,  the  counties  of  Frederick  and 
Shenandoah,  shall  each  elect  three  delegates;  the  counties 
of  Augusta,  Berkely,  Botetourt,  Hampshire,  Jefferson, 
Rockingham,  and  Rockbridge,  shall  each  elect  two  dele 
gates  ;  and  the  counties  of  Alleghany,  Bath,  Hardy,  Mor 
gan,  and  Pendleton,  shall  each  elect  one  delegate.  Of 
the  twenty-nine  counties  lying  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and 
above  tide-water,  the  county  of  Loudoun  shall  elect  three 
delegates ;  the  counties  of  Albemarle,  Bedford,  Brunswick, 
Buckingham,  Campbell,  Culpepper,  Fauquier,  Franklin, 
Halifax,  Mecklenburg,  and  Pittsylvania,  shall  each  elect  twc 
delegates ;  and  the  counties  of  Amelia,  Arab  erst,  Charlotte, 
Cumberland,  Dinwiddie,  Fluvanna,  Goochland,  Henry, 
Louisa,  Lunenburg,  Madison,  Nelson,  Nottoway,  Orange, 
Patrick,  Powhatan,  and  Prince  Edward,  shall  each  elect 
one  delegate.  And  of  the  counties,  cities,  towns,  and 
boroughs  lying  on  tide-water,  the  counties  of  Accomack 
and  Norfolk,  shall  each  elect  two  delegates  ;  the  counties 
of  Caroline,  Chesterfield,  Essex,  Fairfax,  Greenesville, 
Gloucester,  Hanover,  Henrico,  Isle  of  Wight,  King  and 
Queen,  King  William,  King  George,  Nansemond,  North 
umberland,  Northampton,  Princess  Anne,  Prince  George, 
Prince  William,  Southampton,  Spottsylvania,  Stafford, 
Sussex,  Surry,  and  Westmoreland,  and  the  city  of  Rich 
mond,  the  borough  of  Norfolk,  and  the  town  of  Peters 
burg,  shall  each  elect  one  delegate ;  the  counties  of 
Lancaster  and  Richmond  shall  together  elect  one  dele 
gate  ;  the  counties  of  Matthews  and  Middlesex  shall  to 
gether  elect  one  delegate  ;  the  counties  of  Elizabeth  City 
and  Warwick  shall  together  elect  one  delegate  ;  the  coun 
ties  of  James  City  and  York,  and  the  city  of  Williams 
burg,  shall  together  elect  one  delegate  ;  and  the  counties 
of  New  Kent  and  Charles  City  shall  together  elect  one 
delegate. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  VIRGINIA. 


133 


3.  The  other  house  of  the  general  Assembly  shall  he 
called  the  Senate,  and  shall  consist  of  thirty-two  mem 
bers,  of  whom  thirteen  shall  be  chosen  for  and  by  the 
counties  lying  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  of  mountains,  and 
nineteen  for  aid  by  the  counties,  cities,  towns,  and  bo 
roughs  lying  east  thereof;  and  for  the  election  of  whom, 
the  counties,  cites,  towns,  and  boroughs  shall  be  divided 
into  thirty-two  districts,  as  hereinafter  provided.  Each 
county  of  the  respective  districts,  at  the  time  of  the  first 
election  of  its  delegate  or  delegates  under  this  Constitu 
tion,  shall  vote  for  one  senator;  and  the  sheriffs  or  other 
officers  holding  the  election  for  each  county,  city,  town, 
or  borough,  within  five  days  at  farthest  after  the  last 
county,  city,  town,  or  borough  election  in  the  district, 
shall  meet  at  some  convenient  place,  and  from  the  polls 
so  taken  in  their  respective  counties,  cities,  towns,  or  bo 
roughs,  return  as  a  senator  the  person  who  shall  have  the 
greatest  number  of  votes  in  the  whole  district.  To  keep 
up  this  assembly  by  rotation,  the  districts  shall  be  equal 
ly  divided  into  four  classes,  and  numbered  by  lot.  At 
the  end  of  one  year  after  the  first  general  election,  the 
eight  members  elected  by  the  first  division  shall  be  dis 
placed,  and  the  vacancies  thereby  occasioned,  supplied 
from  such  class  or  division  by  new  election  in  the  man 
ner  aforesaid.  This  rotation  shall  be  applied  to  each  di 
vision  according  to  its  number,  and  continued  in  due  or 
der  annually.  And  for  the  election  of  senators,  the 
counties  of  Brooke,  Ohio,  and  Tyler,  shall  form  one  dis 
trict:  the  counties  of  Monongalia,  Preston,  and  Randolph, 
shall  form  another  district;  the  counties  of  Harrison, 
Lewis,  and  Wood,  shall  form  another  district :  the  coun 
ties  of  Kanawha,  Mason,  Cabell,  Logan,  and  Nicholas 
shall  form  another  district:  the  counties  of  Greenbrier, 
Monroe,  Giles,  and  Montgomery,  shall  form  another 
district:  the  counties  of  Tazewell,  Wythe,  and  Grayson, 
shall  form  another  district:  the  counties  of  Washington, 
Russell,  Scott,  and  Lee,  shall  form  another  district ;  the 
counties  of  Berkeley,  Morgan,  and  Hampshire,  shall 
form  another  district :  the  counties  of  Frederick  and  Jef 
ferson  shall  form  another  district ;  the  counties  of  She- 

12 


13-4  CONSTITUTION  OF   VIRGINIA. 

nandoah  and  Hardy  shall  form  another  district:  the  coun 
ties  of  Rockingham  and  Pendleton  shall  form  another 
district:  the  counties  of  Augusta  and  Roclbridge  shall 
form  another  district:  the  counties  of  Allfghany,  Bath, 
Pocahontas,  and  Botetourt,  shall  form  another  district: 
the  counties  of  Loudoun  and  Fairfax  shall  form  another 
district:  the  counties  of  Fauquier  and  Prince  William 
shall  form  another  district :  the  counties  of  Stafford,  King 
George,  Westmoreland,  Richmond,  Lancaster,  and  North 
umberland,  shall  form  another  district:  the  counties  of 
Culpeper,  Madison,  and  Orange,  shall  form  another  dis 
trict:  the  counties  of  Albemarle,  Nelson,  and  Amherst, 
shall  form  another  district :  the  counties  of  Fluvanna, 
Goochland,  Louisa,  and  Hanover,  stall  form  another  dis 
trict:  the  counties  of  Spottsylvania,  Caroline,  and  Essex, 
shall  form  another  district :  the  Bounties  of  King  and 
Queen,  King  William,  Gloucester,  Matthews,  and  Mid 
dlesex,  shall  form  another  distric* :  the  counties  of  Acco- 
mack,  Northampton,  Elizabeth  City,  York,  and  War 
wick,  and  the  city  of  Willismsburg,  shall  form  ano 
ther  district:  the  counties  of  Charles  City,  James  City, 
New  Kent,  and  Henrico,  and  the  city  of  Richmond,  shall 
form  another  district :  the  counties  of  Bedford  and  Frank 
lin  shall  form  another  district :  the  counties  of  Bucking 
ham,  Campbell,  and  Cumberland,  shall  form  another 
district:  the  counties  of  Patrick,  Henry,  and  Pittsylva- 
nia,  shall  form  another  district :  the  counties  of  Halifax, 
and  Mecklenburg  shall  form  another  district :  the  coun 
ties  of  Charlotte,  Lunenburg,  Nottoway,  and  Prince  Ed 
ward,  shall  form  another  district :  the  counties  of  Amelia, 
Powhattan,  and  Chesterfield,  and  the  town  of  Petersburg, 
shall  form  another  district:  the  counties  of  Brunswick, 
Dinwiddie,  and  Greenesville,  shall  form  another  district: 
the  counties  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  Prince  George,  South 
ampton,  Surry,  and  Sussex,  shall  form  another  district: 
and  the  counties  of  Norfolk,  Nansemond,  and  Princess 
Anne,  and  the  borough  of  Norfolk,  shall  form  another 
district. 

4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  legislature,  to  re-apportion, 
once  in  ten  years,  to  wit:  in  the  year  1841,  and  every 
ten  years  thereafter,  the  representation  of  the  counties, 
cities,  towns,  and  boroughs,  of  this  commonwealth,  iu 


CONSTITUTION  OF  VIRGINIA.  133 

both  of  the  legislative  bodies  :  Provided,  however,  that 
the  number  of  delegates  from  the  aforesaid  great  districts, 
and  the  number  of  senators  from  the  aforesaid  two  great 
divisions,  respectively,  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  di 
minished  by  such  re-apportionment.  And  when  a  new 
county  shall  hereafter  be  created,  or  any  city,  town,  or 
borough,  not  now  entitled  to  separate  representation  in 
the  House  of  Delegates,  shall  have  so  increased  in  popu 
lation  as  to  be  entitled,  in  the  opinion  of  the  general  As 
sembly,  to  such  representation,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
general  Assembly  to  make  provision  by  law  for  securing 
to  the  people  of  such  new  county,  or  such  city,  town,  or 
borough,  an  adequate  representation.  And  if  the  object 
cannot  otherwise  be  effected,  it  shall  be  competent  to  the 
general  Assembly  to  re-apportion  the  whole  representa 
tion  of  the  great  district  containing  such  new  county,  or 
such  city,  town,  or  borough,  within  its  limits  ;  which  re- 
apportionment  shall  continue  in  force  till  the  next  regular 
decennial  re-apportionment. 

5.  The  general  Assembly,  after  the  year  1841,  and  at 
intervals  thereafter  of  not  less  than  ten  years,  shall  have 
authority,  two-thirds  of  each  House  concurring,  to  make 
re-apportionments  of  delegates  and  senators,  throughout  the 
commonwealth,  so  that  the  number  of  delegates  shall  not 
at  any  time  exceed  150,  nor  of  senators  36. 

6.  The  whole  number  of  members  to  which  the  State 
may  at  any  time  be  entitled  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  apportioned  as  nearly 
as    may   be,    amongst    the    several    counties,  cities,  bo 
roughs,  and  towns  of  the  State,  according  to  their  respec 
tive  numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the 
whole  number  of  persons,  including  those  bound   to  ser 
vice  for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed, 
three-fifths  of  all  other  persons. 

7.  Any  person  may  be  elected  a  senator  who  shall  have 
attained  to  the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  shall  be  actually  a 
resident  and  freeholder  within  the  district,  qualified  by 
virtue  of  his  freehold  to  vote  for  members  of  the  general 
Assembly  according  to  this  Constitution.     And  any  per 
son  may  be  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Delegates, 
who  shall  have  attained  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and 


135  CONSTITUTION  OF   VIRGINIA. 

shall  be  actually  a  resident  and  freeholder  within  the 
county,  city,  town,  borough,  or  election  district,  qualified 
by  virtue  of  his  freehold  to  vote  for  members  of  the  gene 
ral  Assembly  according  to  this  Constitution :  Provided, 
that  all  persons  holding  lucrative  offices,  and  ministers  of 
the  gospel,  and  priests  of  every  denomination,  shall  be  inca 
pable  of  being  elected  members  of  either  House  of  As 
sembly. 

8.  The  members  of  the   Assembly   shall  receive  for 
their  services  a  compensation  to  be  ascertained  by  law, 
and  paid  out  of  the  public  treasury :  but  no  law  increas 
ing  the  compensation  of  the  members  shall  take  effect  un 
til  the  end  of  the  next  annual  session  after  such  law  shall 
have  been  enacted.     And  no  senator  or  delegate  shall, 
during  the  term  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  be 
appointed  to  any  civil  office  of  profit  under  the  common 
wealth,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emoluments 
of  which  shall  have  been  increased,  during  such   term, 
except  such  offices  as  may  be  filled  by  elections  by  the 
people. 

9.  The  general  Assembly  shall  meet  once  or  oftener 
every  year.     Neither  House,  during  the  session  of  the 
legislature,  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  other,  ad 
journ  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to   any  other  place 
than    that   in    which    the  two   Houses  shall  be  sitting. 
A  majority  of  each  House  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to 
do    business;  but  a  smaller   number  may  adjourn  from 
day  to   day,  and   shall  be  authorized  to  compel  the  at 
tendance  of  absent  members,  in  such  manner  and  under 
such  penalties  as  each  House  may  provide.     And  each 
House  shall   choose   its   own   speaker,  appoint  its  own 
officers,    settle   its    own    rules    of   proceeding,  and    di 
rect  writs  of  election  for  supplying  intermediate  vacancies. 
But  if  vacancies  shall  occur  by  death  or  resignation,  du 
ring  the  recess  of  the  general  Assembly,  such  writs  may 
be  issued  by  the  Governor,  under  such  regulations  as 
may  be  prescribed  by  law.     Each  House  shall  judge  of 
the  election,  qualification,  and  returns  of  its   members  ; 
may  punish  its   members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and, 
with  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds,  expel  a  member,  but 
not  a  second  time  for  the  same  offence. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  VIRGINIA.  137 

10.  All  laws  shall  originate  in  the  House  of  Delegates, 
to   be   approved   or   rejected   by   the   Senate,    or  to   be 
amended  with  the  consent  of  the  House  of  Delegates. 

11.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall 
not  in  any  case  be  suspended.     The  legislature  shall  not 
pass  any  bill  of  attainder  ;  or  any  ex  post  facto  law  ;  or 
any  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts  ;  or  any  law 
whereby  private  property  shall  be  taken  for  public  uses, 
without  just   compensation  :  or  any  law  abridging  the 
freedom  of  speech  or  of  the  press.     No   man  shall  ba 
compelled  to  frequent  or  support  any  religious   worship, 
place,  or  ministry  whatsoever;  nor  shall  any  man  be  en 
forced,  restrained,  molested,  or  burthened  in  his  body  or 
goods,  or  otherwise   suffer,  on  account  of  his  religious 
opinions  or  belief;  but  all  men  shall  be  free  to  profess, 
and  by  argument  to  maintain,  their  opinions  in  matters  of 
religion,  and  the  same  shall  in  no  wise  affect,  diminish  or 
enlarge  their  civil  capacities..     And  the  legislature  shall 
not  prescribe  any  religious  test  whatever ;  nor  confer  any 
peculiar  privileges  or  advantages  on  any  one  sect  or  de 
nomination  ;  nor  pass  any  law  requiring  or  authorizing 
any  religious  society,  or  the  people  of  any  district  within 
this  commonwealth,  to  levy  on  themselves  or  others  any 
tax  for  the  erection  or  repair  of  any  house  for  public  wor 
ship,  or  for  the  support  of  any  church  or  ministry ;  but 
it  shall  be  left  free  to  every  person  to  select  his  religious 
instructor,  and  make  for  his  support  such  private  contract 
as  he  shall  please. 

12.  The  legislature  may  provide  by  law  that  no  per 
son  shall  be  capable  of  holding  or  being  elected  to  any 
post  of  profit,  trust,  or  emolument,  civil  or  military,  le 
gislative,  executive,  or  judicial,  under  the  government  of 
this  commonwealth,  who  shall   hereafter  fight  a  duel,  or 
send  or  accept  a  challenge  to  fight  a  duel,  the  probable 
issue  of  which   may  be   the  death  of  the  challenger  or 
challenged,  or  who  shall  be  a  second  to  either  party,  or 
shall  in  any  manner  aid  or  assist  in  such  duel,  or  shall  be 
knowingly  the  bearer  of  such  challenge  or  acceptance ; 
but  no  person  shall  be  so  disqualified  by  reason  of  his  ha 
ving  heretofore  fought  such  duel,  or  senior  accepted  such 
Challenge,  or  been  a  second  in  such  duel,  or  bearer  of  such 
challenge  or  acceptance.  1-2* 


138  CONSTITUTION   OF  VIRGINIA. 

13.  The  Governor,  the  judges  of  the  court  of  appeals 
and  superior  courts,  and  all  others  offending  against  the 
State,  either  by  maladministration,  corruption,  neglect  ol 
duty,  or  any  other  high  crime  or  misdemeanor,  shall  be 
impeachable  by  the  House  of  Delegates  ;  such  impeach 
ment  to  be  prosecuted  before  the  Senate,  which  shall  have 
the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments.  When  sitting 
for  that  purpose,  the  Senate  shall  be  on  oath  or  affirma 
tion  :  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  con 
currence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present.  Judg 
ment,  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  not  extend  further 
than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold 
and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit  under  the 
commonwealth  ;  but  the  party  convicted  shall  neverthe 
less  be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment, 
and  punishment  according  to  law. 

14.  Every  white  male  citizen  of  the  commonwealth, 
resident  therein,  aged  twenty-one  years  and  upwards,  be 
ing  qualified  to  exercise  the  right  of  suffrage  according 
to  the  former  Constitution  and  laws  ;  and  every  such 
citizen,  being  possessed,  or  whose  tenant  for  years,  at 
will  or  at  sufferance,  is  possessed,  of  an  estate  or  freehold 
in  land  of  the  value  of  twenty-five  dollars,  and  so  assessed 
to  be  if  any  assessment  thereof  be  required  by  law  ;  and 
every  such  citizen,  being  possessed  as  tenant  in  common, 
joint  tenant  or  partner,  of  an  interest  in  or  share  of  land, 
and  having  an  estate  of  freehold  therein,  such  interest  or 
share  being  of  the  value  of  twenty-five  dollars,  and  so  as 
sessed  to  be  if  any  assessment  thereof  be  required  bylaw; 
and  every  such  citizen  being  entitled  to  a  reversion  or 
vested  remainder  in  fee,  expectant  on  an  estate  for  life  or 
lives,  in  land  of  the  value  of  fifty  dollars,  and  so  assessed 
to  be  if  any  assessment  thereof  be  required  by  law  ;  (each 
and  every  such  citizen,  unless  his  title  shall  have  come  to 
him  by  descent,  devise,  marriage,  or  marriage  settlement, 
having  been  so  possessed  or  entitled  for  six  months  ;)  and 
every  such  citizen,  who  shall  own  and  be  himself  in 
actual  occupation  of  a  lease-hold  estate,  with  the  evidence 
of  title  recorded  two  months  before  he  shall  offer  to  vote, 
of  a  term  originally  not  less  than  five  years,  of  the  annu 
al  value  or  rent  of  twenty  dollars  ;  and  every  such  citi- 


CONSTITUTION  OF  VIRGINIA..  130 

zen,  who  for  twelve  months  next  preceding  has  been  a 
housekeeper  and  head  of  a  family  within  the  county,  city, 
town,  borough,  or  election  district  where  he  may  offer  to 
vote,  and  shall  have  been  assessed  with  a  part  of  the  re 
venue  of  the  commonwealth  within  the  preceding  year, 
arid  actually  paid  the  same — and  no  other  persons — shall 
be  q-ualined  to  vote  for  members  of  the  general  Assembly, 
in  the  county,  city,  town,  or  borough,  respectively, 
wherein  such  land  shall  lie,  or  such  housekeeper  and  head 
of  a  family  shall  live.  And  in  case  of  two  or  more  ten 
ants  in  common,  joint  tenants,  or  parceners,  in  posses 
sion,  reversion,  or  remainder,  having  interest  in  land,  the 
value  whereof  shall  be  insufficient  to  entitle  them  all  to 
vote,  they  shall  together  have  as  many  votes  as  the  value 
of  the  land  shall  entitle  them  to  ;  and  the  legislature  shall 
by  law  provide  the  mode  in  which  their  vote  or  votes 
shall  in  such  case  be  given :  Provided,  nevertheless,  that  the 
right  of  suffrage  shall  not  be  exercised  by  any  person  of 
unsound  mind,  or  who  shall  be  a  pauper,  or  a  non-com 
missioned  officer,  soldier,  seaman,  or  marine,  in  the  ser 
vice  of  the  United  States,  or  by  any  person  convicted  of 
any  infamous  offence. 

15.  In  all  elections  in  this  commonwealth  to  any  office 
or  place  of  trust,  honor,  or  profit,  the  votes  shall  be  given 
openly,  or  viva  voce,  and  not  by  ballot. 

ARTICLE  4. 

1.  The  chief  executive  power  of  this  commonwealth 
shall  be  vested  in  a  Governor,  to  be  elected  by  the  joint 
vote  of  the  two  Houses  of  the  general  Assembly.     He 
shall  hold  his  office   during  the  term   of  three  years,  f,o 
commence  on  the  first  day  of  January  next  succeeding 
his  election,  or  on  such  other  day  as   may  from  time  to 
time  be  prescribed  by  law ;  and  he  shall  be  ineligible  to 
that  office  for  three  years  next  after  his  term  of  service 
shall  have  expired. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  Gover 
nor,  unless  he  shall  have  attained  the  age  of  thirty  years, 
shall  be  a  native  citizen  of  the   United   States,  or  shall 
have  been  a  citizen  thereof  at  the  adoption  of  the  federal 


140  CONSTITUTION  OF  VIRGINIA. 

Constitution,  and  shall  have  been  a  citizen  of  this  com 
mon  wealth  for  five  years  next  preceding  his  election. 

3.  The" Governor  shall  receive  for  his  services  a  com 
pensation  to  be  fixed  by  la\v,  which  shall  be  neither  in 
creased  nor  diminished  during  his  continuance  in  office. 

4.  He  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  execu 
ted,  shall  communicate  to  the  legislature,  at  every  session, 
the  condition  of  the  commonwealth,  and  recommend  to 
their  consideration  such  measures  as  he  may  deem  expe 
dient.     He  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  land  and 
naval  forces  of  the  State.     He  shall  have  power  to  em 
body  the  militia,  when,  in  his  opinion,  the  public  safety 
shall  require  it ;  to  convene  the  legislature,  on  application  of 
a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Delegates,  or 
when,  in  his  opinion,  the  interest  of  the  common  wealth  may 
require  it;  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons,  except  where  the 
prosecution  shall  have  been  carried  on  by  the  House  of 
Delegates,  or  the  law  shall  otherwise  particularly  direct: 
to  conduct,  either  in  person  or  in  such  manner  as  shall  be 
prescribed  by  law,  all  intercourse  with  other  and  foreign 
states  ;  and  during  the  recess  of  the  legislature,  to  fill, 
pro  tempore,  all  vacancies  in  those  offices,  which  it  may 
be  the  duty  of  the  legislature   to  fill  permanently  :  Pro 
vided,  that  his  appointments   to   such  vacancies   shall  be 
by  commissions  to  expire  at  the  end  of  the  next  succeed 
ing  session  of  the  general  Assembly. 

5.  There  shall  be  a  Council  of  State,  to  consist  of  three 
members,  any  one  or  more  of   whom  may  act.     They 
shall  be  elected  by  joint  vote  of  both  Houses  of  the  gene 
ral  Assembly,  and  remain  in  office  three  years.     But  of 
those  first  elected,  one,  to  be  designated  by  lot,  shall  re 
main  in  office  one  year  only,  and  one  other,  to  be  desig 
nated  in  like  manner,  shall  remain  in  office  for  two  years 
only.     Vacancies  occurring  by  expiration  of  the  term  of 
service,  or  otherwise,  shall  be  supplied  by  elections  made 
in  like  manner.     The   Governor  shall,  before   he  exer 
cises   any  discretionary  power  conferred  on  him  by  the 
Constitution  and  laws,  require  the  advice  of  the  Council 
of  State,  which  advice  shall  be  registered  in  books  kept 
for  that  purpose,  signed  by  the  members  present  and  con 
senting  thereto,   and  laid  before  the  general  Assembly 


CONSTITUTION    OF    VIRGINIA.  HI 

\vheii  called  for  by  them.  The  council  shall  appoint  their 
own  clerk,  who  shall  take  an  oath  to  keep  secret  such 
matters  as  he  shall  be  ordered  by  the  board  to  conceal. 
The  senior  counsellor  shall  be  Lieutenant-Governor,  and 
in  case  of  the  death,  resignation,  inability,  or  absence  of 
the  Governor  from  the  seat  of  government,  shall  act  as 
Governor. 

6.  The  manner  of  appointing  militia  officers  shall  be 
provided  for  by  law  ;  but  no  officer  below  the  rank  of  a 
brigadier-general  shall  be  appointed  by  the  general  As 
sembly. 

7.  Commissions  and  grants  shall  run  in   the  name  of 
the  commonwealth  of  Virginia,  and  bear  teste  by  the  Go 
vernor,  with  the  seal  of  the  commonwealth  annexed. 

ARTICLE  5. 

1.  The  judicial  power,  shall  be  vested  in  a  supreme 
court  of  appeals,  in  such  superior  courts  as  the  legislature 
may   from  time  to  time   ordain    and   establish,  and  the 
judges  thereof,  in  the  county  courts,  and  in  justices   of 
the  peace.     The  legislature  may  also  vest  such  jurisdic 
tion  as  shall  be  deemed  necessary  in  corporation  courts  ; 
and  in  the  magistrates  who  may  belong  to   the  corporate 
body.     The  jurisdiction  of  these  tribunals,  and  of  the 
judges  thereof,  shall  be  regulated   by  law.     The  judges 
of  the  supreme   court  of  appeals    and   of  the   superior 
courts,  shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  or 
until  removed  in  the  manner  prescribed  in  this  Constitu 
tion  ;  and  shall,  at  the  same   time,  hold   no  other  office, 
appointment,  or  public  trust ;  and  the  acceptance  thereof 
by  either  of  them  shall  vacate  his  judicial  office. 

2.  No  law  abolishing  any  court  shall  be  construed  to 
deprive  a  judge  thereof  of  his  office,  unless  two-thirds  of 
the  members  of  each  House  present  concur  in  the  passiiV 
thereof;  but  the  legislature  may  assign  other  judicial  i*~ 
ties  to  the  judges  of  courts  abolished  by  any  law  ena^d 
by  less  than  two-thirds  of  the  members  of  each 
present. 

3.  The  present  judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  a 

of  the  general  court,  and  of  the  supreme  courts  of  hance- 


•142  CONSTITUTION  OF  VIRGINIA. 

ry,  shall  remain  in  office  until  the  termination  of  the  ses 
sion  of  the  first  legislature  elected  under  this  Constitution, 
and  no  longer. 

4.  The  judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  appeals  and  of 
the  superior  courts  shall  be  elected  by  the  joint  vote  of 
both  Houses  of  the  general  Assembly. 

5.  The  judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  appeals  and  of 
the  superior  courts  shall  receive  fixed  and  adequate  sala 
ries,  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  continu 
ance  in  office. 

6.  Judges  may  be  removed  from  office  by  a  concurrent 
vote  of  both  Houses  of  the  general  Assembly ;  but  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  present  must  concur  in  such  vote, 
and  the  cause  of  removal  shall  be  entered  on  the  journals 
of  each.    The  judge  against  whom  the  legislature  may  be 
about  to  proceed,  shall  receive  notice  thereof,  accompa 
nied  with  a  copy  of  the  causes  alleged  for  his  removal,  at 
least  twenty  days  before  the  day  on  which  either  House 
of  the  general  Assembly  shall  act  thereupon. 

7.  On  the  creation  of  any  new  county,  justices  of  the 
peace  shall  be  appointed,  in  the  first  instance,  in  such 
manner  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law.     When  vacancies 
shall  occur  in  any  county,  or  it  shall,  for  any  cause,  be 
deemed  necessary  to  increase  the  number,  appointments 
shall  be  made  by  the  Governor,  on  the  recommendation 
of  the  respective  county  courts. 

8.  The  attorney-general  shall  be  appointed  by  joint 
vote  of  the  two  Houses  of  the  general  Assembly,  and 
commissioned  by  the  Governor,  and  shall  hold  his  office 
during  the  pleasure  of  the  general  Assembly.   The  clerks 
of  the  several  courts,  when  vacancies  shall  occur,  shall 
be  appointed  by  their  respective  courts,  and  the  tenure 
of  office,  as  well  of  those  now  in  office  as  of  those  who 
may  be  hereafter  appointed,  shall  be  prescribed  by  law 

^he  sheriffs  and  coroners  shall  be  nominated  by  the  re- 
sjpctive  county  courts,  and  when  approved  by  the  Go- 
ve-ior,  shall  be  commissioned  by  him.  The  judges  shall 
^PPint  constables.  And  all  fees  of  the  aforesaid  officers, 
shaliV)e  regulated  by  law. 

9-  Vrits  shall  run  in  the  name  of  the  commonwealth 
of  Virjm'a>  anci  bear  teste  by  the  clerks  of  the  several 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  143 

courts.  Indictments  shall  conclude,  against  the  peace  and 
dignity  of  the  commonwealth. 

ARTICLE  6. 

A  treasurer  shall  be  appointed  annually  by  joint  vote 
of  both  Houses. 

ARTICLE  7. 

The  executive  department  of  the  government  shall  re 
main  as  at  present  organized,  and  the  Governor  and  privy 
counsellors   shall   continue   in  office,  until  a  Governor, 
elected  under  this  Constitution,  shall  come  into  office : 
and  all  other  persons  in  office  when  this  Constitution  shall 
be  adopted,  except  as  is  herein  otherwise  expressly  directed, 
shall  continue  in  office,  till  successors  shall  be  appointed, 
or  the  law  shall  otherwise  provide;  and  all  the  courts  of  jus 
tice  now  existing  shall  continue  with  their  present  juris 
diction,  until  and  except  so  far  as  the  judicial  system  may 
or  shall  be  hereafter  otherwise  organized  by  the  legislature. 
Done  in  convention,  in   the  city  of  Richmond,  on  the 
fifteenth  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty,  and  in  the  fifty- 
fourth  year  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States 
of  America. 

PHILIP  P.  BARBOUR, 

President  of  the  Convention. 
D.  BRIGGS,  Secretary  of  the  Convention. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

ARTICLE  1. 

SEC.  1.  The  legislative  authority  of  this  state  shall  be  vest 
ed  in  a  general  assembly,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives. 

2.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of 
members  chosen  by  ballot,  every  second  year,  by  the 
citizens  of  this  State,  qualified  as  in  this  Constitution  is 
provided. 


1-44        CONSTITUTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

3.  The  several  election  districts  in  this  State  shall  elect 
the  following  number  of  representatives,  viz.: 

Charleston,  including  St.  Philip  and  St.  Michael,  fifteen 
members;  Christ  Church,  three  members;  St.  John, 
Berkely,  three  members  ;  St.  Andrew,  three  members  ; 
St.  George,  Dorchester,  three  members  ;  St.  James, 
Goose  Creek,  three  members  ;  St.  Thomas  and  St.  Den 
nis,  three  members ;  St.  Paul,  three  members ;  St.  Bar 
tholomew,  three  members  ;  St.  James,  Santee,  three 
members  ;  St.  John,  Colleton,  three  members  ;  St.  Ste 
phen,  three  members  ;  St.  Helena,  three  members ;  St. 
Luke,  three  members ;  Prince  William,  three  members  ; 
St.  Peter,  three  members;  All  Saints,  (including its  ancient 
boundaries,)  one  member .  Winyaw,  (not  including  any 
part  of  All  Saints,)  three  members  ;  Kingston,  (not  inclu 
ding  any  part  of  All  Saints,)  two  members ;  William  sburgh, 
two  members ;  Liberty,  two  members ;  Marlborough, 
two  members  ;  Chesterfield,  two  members  ;  Darlington, 
two  members ;  York,  three  members ;  Chester,  two 
members;  Fairfield,  two  members;  Richland,  two  mem 
bers  ;  Lancaster,  two  members  ;  Kershaw,  two  members; 
Claremont,  two  members ;  Clarendon,  two  members ; 
Abbeville,  three  members ;  Edgefield,  three  members  ; 
Newberry,  (including  the  fork  between  Broad  and  Salu- 
da  rivers,)  three  members  ;  Laurens,  three  members  ; 
Union,  two  members  ;  Spartan,  two  members  ;  Green 
ville,  two  members ;  Pendleton,  three  members ;  St. 
Matthew,  two  members  ;  Orange,  two  members  ;  Win- 
ton,  (including  the  district  between  Savannah  river,  and 
the  north  fork  of  Edisto,  three  members ;  Saxe  Gotha, 
three  members. 

4.  Every  free   white  man,  of  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  being  a  citizen  of  this  State,  and  having  resided 
therein  two  years  previous  to  the  day  of  election,  and 
who  hath  a  freehold  of  fifty  acres  of  land,  or  a  town  lot, 
of  which  he  hath  been  legally  seized  and  possessed,  at 
least  six  months  before  such  election,  or,  not  having  such 
freehold  or  town  lot,  hath  been  a  resident  in  the  election 
district,  in  which  he  offers  to  give  his  vote,  six  months 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  145 

before  the  said  election,  and  hath  paid  a  tax  the  preceding 
year  of  three  shillings  sterling  towards  the  support  of  this 
government,  shall  have  a  right  to  vote  for  a  member  or 
members,  to  serve  in  either  branch  of  the  legislature, 
for  the  election  district  in  which  he  holds  such  property, 
or  is  so  resident. 

5.  The  returning  officer,  or  any  other  person  present, 
entitled  to  vote,  may  require  any  person  who  shall  offer 
his  vote  at  an  election,  to  produce  a  certificate  of  his  citi 
zenship,  and  a  receipt  from  the  tax  collector  of  his  having 
paid  a  tax,  entitling  him  to  vote,  or  to  swear,  or  affirm, 
that  he  is  duly  qualified  to  vote  agreeably  to  this  Con 
stitution. 

6.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  a  seat  in  the  Ho-use 
of  Representatives,  unless  he  is  a  free  white  man,  of  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  hath  been  a  citizen  and 
resident  in  this  State  three  years  previous  to  his  election. 
If  a  resident  in  the  election  district,  he  shall  not  be  eli 
gible  to  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  unless 
he  be  legally  seized  and  possessed,  in  his  own  right,  of 
a  settled  freehold  estate  of  five  hundred  acres  "of  land,  and 
ten  negroes  ;  or  of  a  real  estate,  of  the  value  of  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  pounds   sterling,  clear  of  debt.     If  a  non 
resident,  he  shall  be  legally  seized  and  possessed  of  a 
settled  freehold  estate  therein?  of  the  value  of  five  hun 
dred  pounds  sterling,  clear  of  debt. 

7.  The   Senate  shall  be  composed  of  members  to  be 
chosen  for  four  years,  in  the  following  proportions,  by 
the  citizens  of  this   State,  qualified  to  elect  members  to 
the  House  of  Representatives,  at  the  same  time,  in  the 
same  manner,  and  at  the  same  places,  where  they  shall 
vote  for  representatives,  viz.: 

Charleston,  (including  St.  Philip  and  St.  Michael,) 
two  members;  Christ  church,  one  member;  St.  John, 
Berkeley,  one  member ;  St.  Andrew,  one  member ;  St. 
George,  one  member;  St.  James,  Goose  Creek,  one 
member;  St.  Thomas  and  St.  Dennis,  one  member;  St. 
Paul,  one  member ;  St.  Bartholomew,  one  member ;  St. 
James,  Santee,  one  member ;  St.  John,  Colleton,  one 
member ;  St.  Stephens,  one  member  ;  St.  Helena,  one 


110  CONSTITUTION  OF   SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

member;  St.  Luke,  one  member;  Prince  William,  one 
member;  St.  Peter,  one  member;  All  Saints,  one  mem 
ber;  Winy  a  w.v  and  Williamsburgh,  one  member;  Liberty 
and  Kingston  one  member;  Marlborough,  Chesterfield, 
and  Darlington,  two  members  ;  York,  one  member ;  Fair- 
field,  Richland  and  Chester,  one  member;  Lancaster  and 
Kershaw,  one  member ;  Claremont  and  Clarendon,  one 
member ;  Abbeville,  one  member ;  Edgefield,  one  mem 
ber  ;  Newbury,  (including  the  fork  between  Broad  and 
Saluda  rivers,)  one  member ;  Laurens,  one  member ; 
Union,  one  member;  Spartan,  one  member;  Greenville, 
one  member;  Pendleton,  one  member;  St.  Matthew  and 
Orange,  one  member ;  Winton,  (including  the  district  be 
tween  Savannah  river  and  the  north  fork  of  Edisto,)  one 
member ;  Saxe  Gotha,  one  member. 

8.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  a  seat  in  the  Senate, 
unless  he  is  a  free  white  man,  of  the  age  of  thirty  years, 
and  hath  been  a  citizen  and  resident  in  this  State  for  five 
years  previous  to  his  election.     If  a  resident  in  the  elec 
tion  district,  he  shall  not  be  eligible  unless  he  be  legally 
seized  and  possessed,  in  his  own  right,  of  a  settled  free 
hold  estate  of  the  value  of  three  hundred  pounds  sterling, 
clear  of  debt.     If  a  non-resident  in  the  election  district, 
he  shall  not  be  eligible   unless  he  be  legally  seized  and 
possessed,  in  his  own  right,  of  a  settled  freehold  estate, 
in  the  said  district,  of  the  value  of  one  thousand  pounds 
sterling,  clear  of  debt. 

9.  Immediately  after  the  senators  shall  be  assembled, 
in  consequence  of  the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided 
by  lot  into  two  classes.     The  seats  of  the  senators  of  the 
first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second 
year,  and  of  the  second  class,  at  the  end  of  the   fourth 
year ;   so  that  one-half  thereof,  as  near  as  possible,  may 
be  chosen,  for  ever  thereafter,  every  second  year,  for  the 
term  of  four  years. 

10.  Senators  and  members  of  the  House  of  Represen 
tatives,  shall  be  chosen  on  the  second  Monday  in  Octo 
ber  next,  and  the  day  following :  and  on  the  same  days 
in  every  second  year  thereafter,  in  such  manner,  and  at 
such  times,  as  are  herein  directed  ;  and  shall  meet  on  the 


CONSTITUTION  OF    SOUTH  CAROLINA.  1  i7 

fourth  Monday  in  November  annually,  at  Columbia, 
(which  shall  remain  the  seat  of  government  until  other 
wise  determined,  by  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of 
both  brandies  of  the  whole  representation,)  unless  the 
casualties  of  war,  or  contagious  disorders  should  render 
it  unsafe  to  meet  there ;  in  either  of  which  cases,  the 
Governor  or  commander-in-chief  for  the  time  being,  may, 
by  proclamation,  appoint  a  more  secure  and  convenient 
place  of  meeting. 

11.  Each  House  shall  judge  of  the  elections,  returns, 
and  qualifications  of  its  own  members  ;  and  a  majority  or 
each  House  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business:  but 
a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  may 
be  authorized  to   compel  the  attendance  of  absent  mem 
bers,  in  such  manner  and  under  such  penalties  as  may  be 
provided  by  law. 

12.  Each  House  shall  choose  by  ballot  its  own  officers, 
determine  its  rules  of  proceedings,  punish  its  members 
for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two- 
thirds,   expel  a  member,  but  not  a  second  time  for  the 
same  cause. 

13.  Each  House  may  punish,  by  imprisonment,  during 
sitting,  any  person,  not  a  member,  who  shall  be  guilty  of 
disrespect  to  the  House,  by  any  disorderly  or  contemptu 
ous  behavior  in  its  presence — or  who,  during  the  time  of 
its  sitting,  shall  threaten  harm  to  body  or  estate  of  any 
member,  for  any  thing  said  or  done  in  either  House ;  or 
who  shall  assault  any  of  them  therefor  ;  or  who  shall  as 
sault  or  arrest  any  witness  or  other  person  ordered  to  at 
tend  the  House,  in  his  going  to  or  returning  therefrom ; 
or  who  shall  rescue  any  person  arrested  by  order  of  the 
House. 

14.  The  members  of  both  Houses  shall  be  protected  in 
their  persons  and  estates,  during  their  attendance  on,  go 
ing  to,  and  returning  from  the  legislature,  and  ten  days 
previous   to  their  sitting,  and  ten  days  after  the  adjourn 
ment  of  the  legislature.     But  these  privileges  shall  not  be 
extended   so   as   to   protect   any  member  who  shall  be 
charged  with  treason,  felony,  or  breach  of  the  peace. 

15.  Bills  for  raising  a  revenue  shall  originate  in  the 


1  IS  CONSTITUTION  OF    SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

House  of  Representatives,  but  may  be  altered,  amended, 
or  rejected  by  the  Senate. 

All  other  bills  may  originate  in  either  House,  and  may 
be  amended,  altered,  or  rejected  by  the  other. 

16.  No  bill  or  ordinance  shall  have  the  force  of  law, 
until  it  shall  have  been  read  three  times,  and  on  three  se 
veral  days,  in  each  House,  has  had  the  great  seal  affixed 
to  it,  and  has  been  signed,  in  the  Senate-House,  by  the 
President  of  the  Senate  and  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives. 

17.  No   money  shall  be  drawn  out  of  the  public  trea 
sury,  but  by  the  legislative  authority  of  the  State. 

18.  The  members  of  the  legislature,  who  shall  assem 
ble  under  this  Constitution,  shall  be  entitled  to  receive 
out  of  the  public  treasury,  as  a  compensation  for  their  ex 
penses,   a  sum  not  exceeding  seven  shillings  sterling  a 
day,  during  their  attendance  on,  going  to,  and  returning 
from  the  legislature  :  but  the  same  may  be  increased  or 
diminished  by  law,   if  circumstances  shall  require  ;  but 
no  alterations  shall  be  made  by  any  legislature,  to  take 
effect  during  the  existence  of  the  legislature  which  shall 
make  such  alteration. 

19.  Neither  House  shall,  during  their  session,  without 
the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days, 
nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in  which  the  two  Houses 
shall  be  sitting. 

20.  No  bill  or  ordinance,  which  shall  have  been  reject 
ed  by  either  House  shall  be  brought  in  again  during  the 
sitting,  without  leave  of  the  House,  and  notice  of  six  days 
being  previously  given. 

2 1 .  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  a  seat  in  the  legislature 
whilst  he  holds   any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  this 
State,  the  United  States,  or  either  of  them,  or  under  any 
other    power — except  officers  in  the  militia,    army,   or 
navy  of  this  State,  justices  of  the  peace,  or  justices  of  the 
county  courts,  while  they  receive  no  salaries  ;  nor  shall 
any   contractor  of  the  army  or  navy  of  this  State,  the 
United   States,   or  either  of  them,  or  the  agents  of  such 
contractor,  be  eligible  to  a  seat  in  either  House.     And  if 
any  member  shall  accept  or  exercise  any  of  said  disquali 
fymg  officers,  he  shall  vacate  his  seat. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    SOUTH  CAROLINA.  149 

22.  If  any  election  district   shall  neglect  to  choose  a 
member  or  members,  on  the  days  of  election,  or  if  any 
person  chosen  a  member  of  either  House  shall  refuse  to 
qualify  and  take  his  seat,  or  should  die,  depart  the  State, 
or  accept  any  disqualifying  office,  a  writ  of  election  shall 
be  issued  by  the  President  of  the  Senate,  or  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  as  the  case  may  be,  for  the 
purpose  of  filling  up  the  vacancy  thereby  occasioned,  for 
the  remainder  of  the  term  for  which  the  person  so  refusing 
to  qualify,  dying,  departing  the  State,  or  accepting  a  dis 
qualifying  office,  was  elected  to  serve. 

23.  And  whereas  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  are,  by 
their  profession,  dedicated  to  the  service  of  God,  and  the 
care  of  souls,  and  ought  not  to  be  diverted  from  the  great 
duty  of  their  functions  :  therefore,  no  minister  of  the  gos 
pel,  or  public  preacher,  of  any  religious  persuasion,  whilst 
he  continues  in  the  exercise  of  his  pastoral  functions,  shall 
be  eligible  to  the  office  of  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor, 
or  a  seat  in  the  Senate  or  House  of  Representatives. 

ARTICLE  2. 

SEC.  1.  The  executive  authority  of  this  state  shall  be  in 
vested  in  a  Governor,  to  be  chosen  in  manner  following  :  as 
soon  as  may  be,  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  and  at  every  first  meeting  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  thereafter,  when  a  majority  of 
both  Houses  shall  be  present,  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives,  shall,  jointly,  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  choose,  by  ballot,  a  Governor,  to  continue  for 
two  years,  and  until  a  new  election  shall  be  made. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  Governor, 
unless  he  hath  attained  the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  hath 
resided  within  this  State,  and  been  a  citizen  thereof,  ten 
years,  and  unless  he  be  seized  and  possessed  of  a  settled 
estate  within  the  same,  in  his  own  right,  of  the  value  of 
fifteen  hundred  pounds  sterling,  clear  of  debt. 

No  person,  having  served  two  years  as  Governor,  shall 
be  re-eligible  to  that  office,  till  after  the  expiration  of  four 
years. 

No  person  shall  hold  the  office  of  Governor,  or  any 
other  office  or  commission,  civil  or  military,  except  in  the 
13* 


150  CONSTITUTION   OF    SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

militia,  either  in  this  State,  or  under  any  State,  or  the 
United  States,  or  in  any  other  power,  at  one  and  the 
same  time. 

3.  A  Lieutenant-Governor  shall  be  chosen  at  the  same 
time,  in  the  same  manner,  continue  in  office  for  the  same 
period,  and  be  possessed  of  the  same  qualifications  as  the 
Governor. 

4.  A  member  of  the  Senate  or  House  of  Representa 
tives,  being  chosen,  and  acting  as  Governor  or  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  shall  vacate  his  seat,  and  another  person  shall 
be  elected  in  his  stead. 

5.  In  case  of  the  impeachment  of  the  Governor,  or  his 
removal  from  office,  death,  resignation,  or  absence  from 
the   State,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  shall  succeed  to  his 
office.     And  in  case  of  the  impeachment  of  the  Lieute 
nant-Governor,  or  his  removal  from  office,  death,  resigna 
tion,  or  absence  from  the  State,  the  President  of  the  Senate 
shall  succeed  to  his  office,  till  a  nomination  to  those  offices 
respectively  shall  be   made   by  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  for  the  remainder  of  the  time  for  which 
the  officer  so  impeached,  removed  from  office,  dying,  re 
signing,  or  being  absent,  was  elected. 

6.  The  Governor  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  and  navy  of  this  State,  and    of  the   militia,  except 
when  they  shall  be  called  into  the  actual  service  of  the 
United  States. 

7.  He  shall  have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons, 
after  conviction,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  in  such 
manner,  on   such   terms,  and   under   restrictions,  as   he 
shall  think  proper,  and   he    shall  have   power  to  remit 
fines     and     forfeitures,    unless    otherwise    directed    by 
law. 

8.  He  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  exe 
cuted  in  mercy. 

9.  He  shall  have  power  to  prohibit  the  exportation  of 
provision,  for  any  time  not  exceeding  thirty  days. 

10.  He  shall  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services  a 
compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  or  di 
minished  during  the  period  for  which  he  shall  have  been 
elected. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  131 

11.  All  officers  in  the  executive  department,  when  re 
quired  by  the  Governor,  shall  give  him   information,  in 
writing,  upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their 
respective  offices. 

12.  The  Governor  shall  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the 
general  Assembly   information   of   the  condition  of  the 
State,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  mea 
sures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  or  expedient. 

13.  He  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  convene  the 
general  Assembly,  and,  in  case  of  disagreement  between 
the  two  Houses  with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment, 
adjourn  them  to  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper,  not 
beyond  the  fourth  Monday  in  the  month  of  November 
then  ensuing. 

ARTICLE  3. 

SEC.  1.  The  judicial  power  shall  be  vested  in  such  su 
perior  and  inferior  courts  of  law  and  equity,  as  the  legis 
lature  shall,  from  time  to  time,  direct  and  establish. 

The  judges  of  each  shall  hold  their  commissions  du 
ring  good  behavior ;  and  judges  of  the  superior  courts 
shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  a  compensation  for  their 
services,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  or  diminished 
during  their  continuance  in  office :  but  they  shall  receive 
no  fees  or  perquisites  of  office,  nor  hold  any  other  office 
of  profit  or  trust,  under  this  State,  the  United  States,  or 
any  other  power. 

2.  The  style  of  all  processes  shall  be,  "the  Stale  of 
South  Carolina."  All  prosecutions  shall  be  carried  on  in 
the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  State  of  South  Car 
olina,  and  conclude — "against  the  peace  and  dignity  of 
the  same." 

ARTICLE  4. 

All  persons  who  shall  be  chosen  or  appointed  to  any 
office  of  profit  or  trust,  before  entering  on  the  execution 
thereof,  shall  take  the  following  oath:  "  I  do  swear  (or 
affirm)  that  I  am  duly  qualified,  according  to  the  Consti 
tution  of  this  State,  to  exercise  the  office  to  which  I  have 
been  appointed,  and  will,  to  the  best  of  my  abilities,  dig. 


l'  CONSTITUTION  OF    SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

charge  the  duties  thereof,  and  preserve,  protect,  and  de 
fend  the  Constitution  of  this  State,  and  of  the  United 
States." 

ARTICLE  5. 

SEC.  1.  That  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  have 
the  sole  power  of  impeaching;  but  no  impeachment  shall 
be  made,  unless  with  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of 
the  House  of  Representatives. 

2.  All   impeachments  shall   be   tried   by   the   Senate. 
When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  the  senators   shall  be  on 
oath    or   affirmation  :  and  no  person   shall  be  convicted 
without  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members 
present. 

3.  The    Governor,   Lieu  tenant-Governor,  and   all  the 
civil  officers,  shall  be  liable  to  impeachment  for  any  mis 
demeanor  in  office  ;  but  judgment  in  such  cases  shall  not 
extend  further  than    to  a  removal   from   office,  and   dis 
qualification  to  hold  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit, 
under  this  State.     The   party  convicted  shall,  neverthe 
less,  be  liable  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment,  and  punish 
ment,  according  to  law. 

ARTICLE  6. 

SEC.  1.  The  judges  of  the  superior  courts,  the  com 
missioners  of  the  treasury,  secretary  of  the  State,  and  sur 
veyor-general,  shall  be  elected  by  the  joint  ballot  of  both 
Houses,  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  commis 
sioners  of  the  treasury,  secretary  of  this  Stale,  and  sur 
veyor-general,  shall  hold  their  offices  for  four  years  :  but 
shall  not  be  eligible  again  for  four  years  after  the  expira 
tion  of  the  time  for  which  they  shall  have  been  elected. 

2.  All  other  officers  shall  be  appointed  as  they  hither 
to  have  been,  until  otherwise   directed  by  law  ;  but  she 
riffs  shall  hold  their  offices   for  four  years,  and  not  be 
again  eligible  for  four  years  after  the  te:».n  for  which  they 
shall  have  been  elected. 

3.  All  commissions  shall  be  in  the  name  and  by  the  au 
thority  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  and  be  sealed  with 
the  seal  of  the  State,  and  be  signed  by  the  Governor. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  153 

ARTICLE  7. 

All  laws  in  force  in  this  State  at  the  passing  of  this 
Constitution,  shall  so  continue  until  altered  or  repealed 
by  the  legislature ;  except  where  they  are  temporary,  in 
which  case  they  shall  expire  at  times  respectively  limited 
for  their  duration,  if  not  continued  by  -act  of  the  legisla 
ture. 

ARTICLE  8. 

SEC.  1.  The  free  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  religious 
profession  and  worship,  without  discrimination  or  pre 
ference,  shall,  for  ever  hereafter,  be  allowed  within  this 
State  to  all  mankind  :  Provided,  that  the  liberty  of  con 
science  thereby  declared,  shall  not  be  so  construed  as  to 
excuse  acts  of  licentiousness,  or  justify  practices  inconsis 
tent  with  the  peace  or  safety  of  this  State. 

2.  The  rights,  privileges,  immunities,  and  estates  of 
both  civil  and  religious  societies  and  of  corporated  bodies, 
shall  remain  as  if  the  Constitution  of  this  State  had  not 
been  altered  or  amended. 

ARTICLE  9. 

SEC.  1.  All  power  is  originally  vested  in  the  people  ; 
and  all  free  governments  are  founded  on  their  authority, 
and  are  instituted  for  their  peace,  safety,  and  happiness. 

2.  No  freeman  of  this  State  shall  be  taken,  or  impri 
soned,  or  disseized  of  his  freehold,  liberties,  or  privileges, 
or  outlawed,  or  exiled,  or  in  any  manner  destroyed,  or 
deprived   of  his   life,  liberty,  or   property,  but   by   the 
judgment  of  his  peers,  or  by  the  law  of  the  land:  nor 
shall  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or  law   im 
pairing  the  obligation  of  contracts,  ever  be  passed  by  the 
legislature  of  this  State. 

3.  The  military  shall  be  subordinate  to  the  civil  power. 

4.  Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive 
fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  punishments  inflicted. 

5.  The  legislature  shall  not  grant  any  title  of  nobility 
or  hereditary  distinction,  nor  create  any  office,  the   ap 
pointment  to  which  shall  be  for  any  longer  time  than  du 
ring  good  behavior* 


154  CONSTITUTION  OF   SOUTH  CAROLINA 

6.  The  trial  by  jury,  as  heretofore  used  in  this  State, 
and  the  liberty  of  the  press,  shall  be  for  ever  inviolably 
preserved. 

ARTICLE  10. 

SEC.  1.  The  business  of  the  treasury  shall  be  in  future 
conducted  by  t\vo  treasurers,  one  of  whom  shall  hold  his 
office  and  reside  in  Columbia;  and  the  other  shall  hold 
his  office  and  reside  in  Charleston. 

2.  The  secretary  of  state   and  surveyor-general  shall 
hold  their  offices  both  in  Columbia  and  in  Charleston. 
They  shall  reside  at  one  place,  and  their  deputies  at  the 
other. 

3.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  circuits,  the  judges  shall 
meet  and  sit  at  Columbia,  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  and 
determining  all  motions  which  may  be  made  for  new 
trials,  and  in  arrest  of  judgments,  and  such  points  of  law 
as  may  be  submitted  to  them.     From  Columbia  they  shall 
proceed  to  Charleston,  and  there  hear  and  determine  all 
such  motions  for  new  trials,  and  in  arrest  of  judgment, 
and  such  points  of  law  as  may  be  submitted  to  them. 

4.  The  Governor  shall  always  preside,  during  the  sit 
ting  of  the  legislature,  at  the   place  where  their  sessions 
may  be  held,  and  at  all   other  times,   wherever,  in  his 
opinion,  the  public  good  may  require. 

5.  The  legislature  shall,  as  soon  as  may  be  convenient, 
pass  laws  for  the  abolition  of  the  rights  of  primogenitures, 
and  for  giving  an  equitable  distribution  of  the  real  estate 
of  intestates. 

ARTICLE  11. 

•  No  Convention  of  the  people  shall  be  called,  unless  by 
the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  both  branches  of  the 
\vhole  representation. 

No  part  of  this  Constitution  shall  be  altered,  unless  a  bill 
to  alter  the  same  shall  have  been  read  three  times  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  three  times  in  the  Senate, 
and  agreed  to  by  two-thirds  of  both  branches  of  the  whole 
representation  ;  neither  shall  any  alteration  take  place  until 
the  bill  so  agreed  to  be  published  three  months  previous 
to  a  new  election  for  members  to  the  House  of  Repre 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  133 

sen  tali ves  ;  and  if  the  alteration  proposed  by  the  legisla 
ture  shall  be  agreed  to  in  their  first  session  by  two-thirds 
of  the  whole  representation  in  both  branches  of  the  legis 
lature,  after  the  same  shall  have  been  read   three  times, 
on  three  several  days  in  each  House,  then,  and  not  other 
wise,  the  same  shall  become  a  part  of  the  Constitution. 
Done  in   Convention,   at  Columbia,  in  the   State   of 
South  Carolina,  the  third  day  of  June,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1790,  and  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

By  the  unanimous  order  of  the  Convention, 

CHAKLES  PINCKNEY,  President. 


AMENDMENTS. 

AMENDMENTS  RATIFIED  DECEMBER  17,  1808% 

The  following  sections,  in  amendment  of  the  third, 
seventh,  and  ninth  sections  of  the  first  article  of  the  Con 
stitution  of  this  State,  shall  be,  and  they  are  hereby  de 
clared  to  be,  valid  parts  of  the  said  Constitution  ;  and  the 
said  third,  seventh,  and  ninth  sections,  or  such  parts 
thereof  as  are  repugnant  to  such  amendments,  are  hereby 
repealed  and  made  void. 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  consist  of  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty-four  members,  to  be  apportioned  among 
the  several  election  districts  of  the  State,  according  to  the 
number  of  white  inhabitants  contained,  and  the  amount 
of  all  taxes  raised  by  the  legislature,  whether  direct  or  in 
direct,  or  of  whatever  species,  paid  in  each,  deducting 
therefrom  all  taxes  paid  on  account  of  property  held  in 
any  other  district,  and  adding  thereto  all  taxes  elsewhere 
paid  on  account  of  property  held  in  such  district.  An 
enumeration  of  the  white  inhabitants,  for  this  purpose, 
shall  be  made  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hun 
dred  and  nine,  and  in  the  course  of  every  tenth  year 
thereafter,  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  by  law  directed : 


15G  CONSTITUTION  OF   SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

and  representatives  shall  be  assigned  to  the  different  dis 
tricts  in  the  above-mentioned  proportion,  by  act  of  the 
legislature,  at  the  session  immediately  succeeding  the 
above  enumeration. 

If  the  enumeration  herein  directed  should  not  be  made 
in  the  course  of  the  year  appointed  for  the  purpose  by 
these  amendments,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Governor 
to  have  it  effected  as  soon  thereafter  as  shall  be  practica 
ble. 

In  assigning  representatives  to  the  several  districts  of 
the  State,  the  legislature  shall  allow  one  representative. for 
every  sixty-second  part  of  the  whole  number  of  white  in 
habitants  in  the  State  ;  and  one  representative  also  for 
every  sixty-second  part  of  the  whole  taxes  raised  by  the 
legislature  of  the  State.  The  legislature  shall  further 
allow  one  representative  for  such  fractions  of  the  sixty- 
second  part  of  the  white  inhabitants  of  the  State,  and  of 
the  sixty-second  part  of  the  taxes  raised  by  the  legisla 
ture  of  the  State,  as,  when  added  together,  form  a  unit. 

In  every  apportionment  of  representation  under  these 
amendments,  which  shall  take  place  after  the  first  appor 
tionment,  the  amount  of  taxes  shall  be  estimated  from  the 
average  of  the  ten  preceding  years  ;  but  the  first  appor 
tionment  shall  be  founded  upon  the  tax  of  the  preceding 
year,  excluding  from  the  amount  thereof  the  whole  pro 
duce  of  the  tax  on  sales  at  public  auction. 

If,  in  the  apportionment  of  representatives  under  these 
amendments,  any  election  district  shall  appear  not  to  be 
entitled,  from  its  population  and  its  taxes,  to  a  represen 
tative,  such  election  district  shall,  nevertheless,  send  one 
representative  ;  and,  if  there  should  still  be  a  deficiency 
of  the  number  of  representatives  required  by  these  amend 
ments,  such  deficiency  shall  be  supplied  by  assigning  re 
presentatives  to  those  election  districts  having  the  largest 
surplus  fractions ;  whether  those  fractions  consist  of  a 
combination  of  population  and  of  taxes,  or  of  population 
or  of  taxes  separately,  until  the  number  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty-four  members  be  provided. 

No  apportionment,  under  these  amendments  shall  be 
construed  to  take  effect,  in  any  manner,  until  the  gene 
ral  election  which  shall  succeed  such  apportionment. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  1  57 

The  election  districts,  for  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  shall  be  and  remain  as  heretofore  esta 
blished,  except  Saxe  Gotha  and  Newberry  ;  in  which  the 
boundaries  shall  be  altered,  as  follows,  viz. :  That  part 
of  Lexington  in  the  fork  of  Broad  and  Saluda  rivers,  shall 
no  longer  compose  a  part  of  the  election  district  of  New- 
berry,  but  shall  be  henceforth  attached  to,  and  form  a  part 
of,  Saxe  Gotha.  And,  also,  except  Orange  and  Barn- 
well,  or  Winton,  in  which  the  boundaries  shall  be  alter 
ed,  as  follows,  viz.:  That  part  of  Orange  in  the  fork  of 
Edisto  shall  no  longer  compose  a  part  of  the  election  dis 
trict  of  Barn  well,  or  Winton,  but  shall  be  henceforth  at 
tached  to,  and  form  a  part  of,  Orange  election  district. 

The  Senate  shall  be  composed  of  one  member  from 
each  election  district,  as  now  established  for  the  election 
of  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  except  the 
district  formed  by  the  parishes  of  St.  Philip  and  St.  Mi 
chael,  to  which  shall  be  allowed  two -senators  as  hereto 
fore. 

The  seats  of  those  senators  who  under  the  Constitu 
tion  shall  represent  two  or  more  election  districts,  on  the 
day  preceding  the  second  Monday  of  October,  which  will 
be  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ten,  shall 
be  vacated  on  that  day,  and  the  new  senators  who  shall 
represent  such  districts  under  these  amendments,  shall, 
immediately  after  they  shall  have  been  assembled  under 
the  first  election,  be  divided  by  lots  into  two  classes  ;  the 
seats  of  the  senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at 
the  expiration  of  the  second  year,  and  of  the  second  class, 
at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year  ;  and  the  number  in 
these  classes  shall  be  so  proportioned,  that  one-half  of  the 
whole  number  of  senators  may,  as  nearly  as  possible, 
continue  to  be  chosen  thereafter  every  second  year. 

None  of  these  amendments  becoming  parts  of  the  Con 
stitution  of  this  State  shall  be  altered,  unless  a  bill  to  alter 
the  same  shall  have  been  read  on  three  several  days  in 
the  House  of  Representatives,  and  on  three  several  days 
in  the  Senate,  and  agreed  to  at  the  second  and  third  read 
ing  by  two-thirds  of  the  whole  representation  in  each 
branch  of  the  legislature  ;  neither  shall  any  alteration  take 
_place,  until  the  bill  so  agreed  to  be  published  three  months 


158  CONSTITUTION  OF  OHIO. 

previous  to  a  new  election  for  members  to  the  House  of 
Representatives ;  and  if  the  alteration  proposed  by  the 
legislature  shall  be  agreed  to  in  their  first  session,  by  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  representation,  in  each  branch  of  the 
legislature,  after  the  same  shall  have  been  read  on  three 
several  days  in  each  House,  then,  and  not  otherwise,  the 
same  shall  become  a  part  of  the  Constitution. 

AMENDMENT  RATIFIED  DECEMBER  19,   1816. 

That  the  third  section  of  the  tenth  article  of  the  Con 
stitution  of  this  State  be  altered  and  amended  to  read  as 
follows  :  The  judges  shall,  at  such  times  and  places  as 
shall  be  prescribed  by  act  of  the  legislature  of  this  State, 
meet  and  sit  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  and  determining 
all  motions  which  may  be  made  for  new  trials,  and  in  ar 
rest  of  judgment,  and  such  points  of  law  as  may  be  sub 
mitted  to  them. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  OHIO. 

ARTICLE  1. 

SEC.  1.  The  legislative  authority  of  this  state  shall  be 
vested  in  a  general  Assembly,  which  shall  consist  of  .a 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  both  to  be  elected 
by  the  people. 

2.  Within  one  year  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  gene 
ral  Assembly,  and  within  every  subsequent  term  of  four 
years,  an  enumeration  of  all  the  white  male  inhabitants 
above  twenty-one  years  of  age  shall  be  made,  in  such 
manner  as  shall  be  directed  by  law.  The  number  of  re 
presentatives  shall,  at  the  several  periods  of  making  such 
enumeration,  be  fixed  by  the  legislature,  and  apportioned 
among  the  several  counties,  according  to  the  number  of 
white  male  inhabitants  of  above  twenty-one  years  of  age 
in  each ;  and  shall  never  be  less  than  twenty-four  nor 
greater  than  thirty-six,  until  the  number  of  white  male  in 
habitants  of  above  twenty-one  years  of  age  vshall  be  twen- 


CONSTITUTION  OF  OHIO.  159 

fcy-two  thousand ;  and  after  that  event,  at  such  ratio  that 
the  whole  number  of  representatives  shall  never  be  less 
than  thirty-six,  nor  exceed  seventy-two. 

3.  The  representatives  shall   be  chosen  annually,  by 
the  citizens  of  each  county  respectively,  on  the  second 
Tuesday  of  October. 

4.  No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not 
have  attained  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  be  a  citi 
zen  of  the  United  States,  and  an  inhabitant  of  this  State  ; 
shall  also  have  resided  within  the  limits  of  the  county  in 
which  he  shall  be  chosen,  one  year  next  preceding  his 
election,  unless  he  shall  have  been  absenton  the  public  busi 
ness  of  the  United  States,  or  of  this  State,  and  shall  have 
paid  a  state  or  county  tax. 

5.  The  senators  shall  be  chosen  biennially,  by  qualified 
voters  for  representatives ;  and,  on  their  being  convened 
in  consequence  of  the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided 
by  lot  from  their  respective  counties  or  districts,  as  near 
as  can  be,  into  two  classes  ;  the  seats  of  the  senators  of 
the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  first 
year,  and  of  the  second  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  se 
cond  year  ;  so  that  one-half  thereof,  as  near  as  possible, 
may  be  chosen  annually  for  ever  thereafter. 

6.  The  number  of  senators  shall,  at  the  several  periods 
of  making  the  enumeration  before  mentioned,  be  fixed  by 
the  legislature  and  apportioned  among  the  several  counties 
or  districts   to  be   established  by  law,  according  to  the 
number  of  white  male  inhabitants  of  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  in  each,  and  shall  never  be  less  than  one-third 
nor  more  than  one-half  of  the  number  of  representatives. 

7.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  has  not  arrived  at 
the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  is  a  citizen  of  the   United 
States  ;  shall  have  resided  two  years  in  the  district  or 
county   immediately   preceding   the  election,  unless  he 
shall  have  been  absent  on  the  public  business  of  the  Uni 
ted  States,  or  of  this  State,  and  shall  moreover  have  paid 
a  state  or  county  tax. 

8.  The  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  when 
assembled,  shall  each  choose  a  speaker  and  its  other  offi 
cers,  be  judges  of  the  qualifications  and  elections  of  its 
members,  and  sit  upon  its  own  adjournments  ;  two-thirds 


1GO  coxsiiTUTio:;  OF  OHIO. 

of  each  House  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business, 
but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and 
compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members. 

9.  Each  House  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings, 
and  publish  them.     The  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members, 
on  any  question,  shall,  at  the  desire  of  any  two  of  them, 
be  entered  on  the  journals. 

10.  Any  two  members  of  either  House  shall  have  lib 
erty  to  dissent  from  and  protest  against  any  act  or  reso 
lution  which  they  may   think  injurious   to   the  public  or 
any  individual,  and  have  the  reasons  of  their  dissent  en 
tered  on  the  journals. 

11.  Each  House  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  pro 
ceedings,  punish  its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and 
with  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds,  expel  a  member,  but 
not  a  second  time  for  the  same  cause  ;  and  shall  have  all 
other  powers  necessary  for  a  branch  of  the  legislature  of 
a  free  and  independent  State. 

12.  When  vacancies  happen  in  either  House,  the  Go 
vernor  or  the   person  exercising  the  power  of  the  Gover 
nor  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such  vacancies. 

13.  Senators  and  representatives  shall,  in  all  cases,  ex 
cept  treason,  felony  or  breach  of  the  peace,  be  privileged 
from  arrest  during  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly, 
and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same ;  and  for  any 
speech  or  debate,  in  either  House,  they  shall  not  be  ques 
tioned  in  any  other  place. 

14.  Each  House  may  punish,  by  imprisonment,  during 
their  session,  any  person,  not  a  member,  who  shall   be 
guilty  of  disrespect  to  the   House,  by  any  disorderly  or 
contemptuous  behavior  in  their  presence  :  provided  such 
imprisonment  shall  not,  at  any  one  time,  exceed  twenty- 
four  hours. 

15.  The  doors  of  each  House,  and  of  committees  of 
the  whole,  shall  be  kept  open,  except  in  such  cases  as,  in 
the   opinion   of  the    House,    require   secrecy.     Neither 
House  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for 
more  than  two  days,  nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in 
which  the  two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

16.  Bills  may  originate  in  either  House,  but  may  be 
altered,  amended,  or  rejected  by  the  other. 


CONSTITUTION   01    OHIO. 


17.  Every  bill  shall  be  read  on  three  different  days,  in 
each  House,  unless,  in  case  of  urgency,  three-fourths  of 
the  House  where  such  bill  is  so  depending  shall  deem  it  ex 
pedient  to  dispense  with  this  rule;  and  every  bill  having 
passed  both  Houses,  shall  be  signed  by  the   speakers  of 
their  respective  Houses. 

18.  The  style  of  the  laws  of  this  State  shall  be,  "  Be  it 
enacted  by  the  general  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Ohio.1" 

19.  The  legislature  of  this  State  shall  not  allow  the  fol 
lowing  officers   of  government    greater  annual    salaries 
than  as  follows,  until  the  year  one   thousand    eight  hun 
dred  and  eight,  to  wit ;  the  Governor  not  more  than  one 
thousand  dollars  ;  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court  not 
more  than  one  thousand  dollars  each  ;  the  presidents  of  the 
courts  of  common  pleas  not  more  than  eight  hundred  dol 
lars  each  ;  the  secretary  of  state  not  more  than  five  hun 
dred  dollars  ;  the  auditor  of  public  accounts  not  more  than 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars;  the  treasurer  not   more 
than  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  ;  no  member  of  the 
legislature  shall  receive  more   than  two  dollars   per  day 
during  his  attendance  on  the  legislature,  nor  more   for 
every  twenty-five  miles  he  shall  travel  in  going  to  and  re 
turning  from  the  general  Assembly. 

20.  No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time 
for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  be  appointed  to  any 
civil  office  under  this  State,  which  shall  have  been  crea 
ted,  or  the  emoluments  of  which  shall  have  been  increas 
ed,  during  such  time. 

21.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  but 
ill  consequence  of  appropriations  made  by  law. 

22.  An  accurate  statement  of  the  receipts  and  expendi 
tures  of  the   public  moneys  shall  be  attached  to  and  pub 
lished  with  the  laws,  annually. 

23.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  have  the  sole 
power  of  impeaching,  but  a  majority  of  all  the  members 
must  concur  in  an  impeachment.  All  impeachments  shall 
be  tried  by  the  Senate,  and  when  sitting  for  that  purpose, 
they  shall   be  on  oath  or  affirmation  to  do  justice  accord 
ing  to  law  and  evidence  ;  no  person  shall  be  convicted 
without  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  all  the  senators. 

11* 


162  COMsTliUTlON   OF   OHIO. 

24.  The  Governor'and  all  other  civil  officers  under  this 
State  shall  be  liable  to  impeachment  for  any  misdemeanor 
in  office  ;  but  judgment,  in  such  cases,  shall  not  extend 
further  than  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to 
hold  any  office  of  honor,  profit,  or  trust,  under  this  State. 
The  party,  whether  convicted  or  acquitted,  shall,  never 
theless,  be  liable  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment,  and  pun 
ishment,  according  to  law. 

25.  The  first  session   of  the   general  Assembly  shall 
commence  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  March  next ;  and   for 
ever  after  the   general  Assembly  shall  meet  on   the  first 
Monday  in  December  in  every  year,  and  at  no  other  pe 
riod,  unless  directed  by  law,  or  provided  for  by  this  Con 
stitution. 

26.  No  judge  of  any  court  of  law  or  equity,  secretary 
of  state,  attorney-general,  register,  clerk  of  any  court  of 
record,  sheriff  or  collector,  member  of  either  House   of 
Congress,  or  person  holding  any  lucrative  office  under 
the   United   States,  or  this   State,  provided  that  the  ap 
pointments  in  the  militia,  or  justices  of  the  peace,  shall 
not  be  considered  lucrative  offices,  shall  be  eligible  as  a 
candidate  for,  or  have  a  seat  in,  the  general  Assembly. 

27.  No  person  shall  be  appointed  to  any  office  within 
any  county  who  shall  not  have  been  a  citizen  and  inha 
bitant  therein  one  year   next  before  his  appointment,  if 
the  county  shall  have  been  so  long  erected :  but  if  the 
county  shall  not  have  been  so  long  erected,  then  within 
the  limits  of  the  county  or  counties  out  of  which  it  shall 
have  been  taken. 

28.  No  person  who  heretofore  hath  been,  or  hereafter 
may  be,  a  collector  or  holder  of  the  public  moneys,  shall 
have  a  seat  in  either  House  of  the  general  Assembly,  un 
til  such  person  shall  have  accounted  for  and  paid  into  the 
treasury  all   sums  for   which  he   may  be   accountable  or 
liable. 

ARTICLE  2. 

SEC.  1.  The  supreme  executive  power  of  this  Sla{c  shall 
be  vested  in  a  Governor. 

2.  The  Governor  shall  be  chosen  by  the  electors  of 
the  members  of  the  general  Assembly,  on  the  second 


CONSTITUTION  OF  OHIO.  163 

Tuesday  of  October,  at  the  same  places  and  in  the  same 
manner  that  they  shall  respectively  vote  for  members 
thereof.  The  returns  of  every  election  for  Governor 
shall  be  sealed  up  and  transmitted  to  the  seat  of  govern 
ment,  by  tfie  returning  officers,  directed  to  the  Speaker  of 
the  Senate,  who  shall  open  and  publish  them  in  the  pre 
sence  of  a  majority  of  the  members  of  each  House  of  the 
general  Assembly  ;  die  person  having  the  highest  number 
of  votes  shall  be  Governor:  but  if  two  or  more  shall  be 
equal  and  highest  in  votes,  then  one  of  them  shall  be  cho 
sen  Governor  by  joint  ballot  of  both  Houses  of  the  gene 
ral  Assembly.  Contested  elections  for  Governor  shall  be 
determined  by  both  Houses  of  the  general  Assembly,  in 
such  manner  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  law. 

3.  The  first  Governor  shall  hold   his   office  until  the 
first  Monday  of  September,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  five,  and  until  another  Governor  shall  be  elected  and 
qualified  to  office ;  and  for  ever  after,  the  Governor  shall 
hold  his  office  for  the  term   of  two  years,  and  until  an~ 
other  Governor  shall  be  elected  and  qualified ;  but   he 
shall  not  be  eligible  more  than  six  years  in  any  term  of 
eight  years.     He  shall  be  at  least  thirty  years  of  age,  and 
have  been  a  citizen  of  the   United   States   twelve  years, 
and  an  inhabitant  of  this  State  four  years  next  preceding 
his  election. 

4.  He  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  general  As 
sembly  information  of  the  state  of  the  government,  and 
recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures   as  he 
shall  deem  expedient. 

5.  He  shall  have  the  power  to  grant  reprieves  and  par 
dons,  after  conviction,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

6.  The  Governor  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his 
services  a  compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased 
nor  diminished  during  the  term  for  which  he  shall  have 
been  elected. 

7.  He  may  require  information,  in  writing,  from   the 
officers  in  the  executive  department,  upon  any  subject  re 
lating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  shall 
take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed. 

8    When  an  officer,  the  right  of  whose  appointment  is, 
by    this   Constitution,   vested  in  the  general  Assembly. 


10  1  CONSTITUTION*  OF  OHIO. 

snail,  during  the  recess,  die,  or  his  office  by  any  means 
become  vacant,  the  Governor  shall  have  power  to  fill  such 
vacancy,  by  granting  a  commission,  which  shall  expire 
at  the  end  of  the  next  session  of  the  legislature. 

9.  He  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  convene  the 
general   Assembly   by  proclamation,  and   shall   state  to 
them,  when  assembled,  the  purpose  for  which  they  shall 
have  been  convened. 

10.  He  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the   army   and 
navy  of  this  State,  and  of  the   militia,  except  when   they 
shall  be  called  into  the  service  of  the  United  States. 

11.  In  cases  of  disagreement  between  the  two  Houses, 
with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  the  Governor 
shall  have  the  power  to  adjourn  the  general  Assembly  to 
such  time  as  he  thinks  proper,  provided  it  be  not  a  period 
beyond  the  annual  meeting  of  the  legislature. 

12.  In  case  of  the  death,  impeachment,  resignation,  or 
the  removal  of  the  Governor  from  office,  the  Speaker  of 
the  Senate,  shall  exercise  the  office  of  Governor  until  he 
be  acquitted,  or  another  Governor  shall  be  duly  qualified 
In  case  of  impeachment  of  the  Speaker  of  the  Senate,  or 
his   death,  removal  from  office,   resignation,  or  absence 
from  the  State,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  shall  succeed  to  the  office,  and  exercise  the  duties 
thereof,  until  a  Governor  shall  be  elected  and  qualified. 

13.  No  member  of  Congress,  or  person  holding  any 
office  under  the  United  States,  or  this  State,  shall  execute 
the  office  of  Governor. 

14.  There  shall  be  a  seal  of  the  State,  which   shall  be 
kept  by  the  Governor,  and  used  by   him   officially,  and 
shall  be  called  the  great  seal  of  the  State  of  Ohio. 

15.  All  grants  and  commissions  shall  be  in  the  name 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  sealed  with  the 
seal,  signed  by  the  Governor,  and  countersigned  by  the 
secretary. 

16.  A  secretary  of  state  shall  be  appointed  by  a  joint 
ballot  of  the  Senate  and   House  of  Representatives,  who 
shall  continue  in  office  three  years,  if  he  shall  so  long  be 
have  himself  well.  He  shall  keep  a  fair  register  of  all  the 
official  acts  and  proceedings  of  the  Governor;  and  shall, 
when  required,  lay  the  same,  and   all  papers,  minutes. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  OHIO.  165 

and  vouchers,  relative  thereto,  before  either  branch  of  the 
legislature,  and  shall  perform  such  other  duties  as  shall 
be  assigned  him  by  law. 

ARTICLE  3. 

SEC.  1.  The  judicial  power  of  this  State,  both  as  to 
matters  of  law  and  equity,  shall  be  vested  in  a  supreme 
court,  in  courts  of  common  pleas  for  each  county,  injus 
tices  of  the  peace,  and  in  such  other  courts  as  the  legisla 
ture  may  from  time  to  time  establish. 

2.  The  supreme  court  shall  consist  of  three  judges,  any 
two  of  whom  shall  be  a  quorum.     They  shall  have  origi 
nal  and  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  in   common  law  and 
chancery,  in  such  cases  as  shall  be  directed  by  law :  pro 
vided,  that   nothing  herein   contained  shall  prevent  the 
general  Assembly  from  adding  another  judge   to   the  su 
preme  court  after  the  term  of  five  years,  in   which  case 
the  judges  may  divide  the  State  into  two  circuits,  within 
which  any  two  of  the  judges  may  hold  a  court. 

3.  The  several  courts  of  common  pleas  shall  consist  of 
a  president  and  associate  judges.     The  State  shall  be  di 
vided  by  law  into  three  circuits  :  there  shall  be  appointed 
in  each  circuit  a  president  of  the  courts,  who,  during  his 
continuance  in  office,  shall  reside  therein.     There  shall 
be  appointed  in  each  county  not  more  than  three  nor  less 
than  two  associate  judges,  who,  during  their  continuance 
in  office,  shall  reside  therein.     The  president  and  associ 
ate  judges,    in  their  respective  counties,   any  three  of 
whom    shall    be  a  quorum,  shall    compose    the  court  of 
common  pleas,  which  court  shall  have  common  law  and 
chancery  jurisdiction,  in  all  such  cases  as  shall  be  direct 
ed  by  law  ;  provided,  that  nothing  herein  contained  shall 
be  construed  to  prevent  the  legislature  from  increasing  the 
number  of  circuits  and  presidents  after  the   term  of  five 
years. 

4.  The  judges  of  the  supreme  court  and  court  of  com 
mon  pleas,  shall  have  complete   criminal  jurisdiction  in 
such  cases  and  in  such  manner  as  may  be  pointed  out  by 
law. 

5.  The  court  of  common   pleas   in   each  county  shall 
have  jurisdiction  of  nil  probate  and  testamentary  matters, 

13* 


10(5  COXSTSTl  TIO\   OF   OHIO. 

granting  administration,  and  the  appointment  of  guardians, 
and  such  other  cases  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  la\v. 

6.  The  judges    of  the  court   of  common   pleas   shall, 
within  their  respective  counties,  have  the  same   powers 
with  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  to  issue  writs  of 
certiorari  to  the  justices  of  the  peace,  and  cause  their  pro 
ceedings  to  be  brought  before  them,  and  the  like  right  and 
justice  to  be  done. 

7.  The  judges  of  the  supreme  court  shall,  by  vutue  of 
their  offices,  be  conservators  of  the  peace  throughout  the 
State.     The  presidents  of  the  court   of  common   pleas 
shall,  by  virtue  of  their  offices,  be  conservators  of  the 
peace  in  their  respective  circuits,  and  the  judges  of  the 
court  of  common  pleas  shall,  by  virtue  of  their  offices,  be 
conservators  of  the  peace  in  their  respective  counties. 

8.  The  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  the  presidents, 
and  the  associate  judges  of  the  courts  of  common   pleas, 
shall  be  appointed  by  a  joint  ballot  of  both  Houses  of  the 
general  Assembly,  and  shall  hold  their  offices  for  the  term 
of  seven  years,  if  so  long  they  behave  well.     The  judges 
of  the  supreme  court,  and  the  presidents  of  the  courts  of 
common  pleas,  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  their  ser 
vices   an    adequate    compensation,    to    be  fixed  by  law, 
which  shall  not  be   diminished  during  their  continuance 
in  office ;  but  they  shall  receive  no  fees  or  perquisites  of 
office,  nor  hold   any  other  office  of  profit  or  trust  under 
the  authority  of  this  State  or  the  United  States. 

9.  Each  court  shall  appoint  its  own  clerk,  for  the  term 
of  seven  years  ;  but  no  person  shall  be  appointed  clerk, 
except  pro  tempore,  who  shall  not  produce  to   the  court 
appointing  him  a  certificate  from  a  majority  of  the  judges 
of  the  supreme  court,  that  they  judge  him  to  be  well 
qualified  to  execute  the  duties  of  the  office  of  clerk  to  any 
court  of  the  same  dignity  with  that  for  which  he   offers 
himself.     They  shall  be  removable  for  breach  of  good  be 
havior,  at  any  time,  by  the  judges  of  the  respective  courts. 

10.  The  supreme  court  shall  be  held  once  a  year,  in 
each  county ;  and  the  courts  of  common  pleas   shall  be 
holden  in  each  county  at  such  times  and  places  as  shall 
be  prescribed  by  law. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  OHIO.  1  f»7 

11.  A  competent  number  of  justices  of  the  peace  shall 
be  elected  by  the  qualified  electors  in  each  township  in 
the  several  counties,  and  shall  continue  in  office  three 
years  ;  whose  powers  and  duties  shall  from  time  to  time 
be  regulated  and  defined  by  law. 

12.  The  style   of  all  process  shall  be,  The   State  of 
Ohio  ;  and  all  prosecutions  shall  be  carried   on   in   the 
name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  State  of  Ohio  ;  and  all 
indictments  shall  conclude,  against  the  peace  and  dignity 
of  the  same. 

ARTICLE  4. 

SEC.  1.  In  all  elections,  all  white  male  inhabitants, 
above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  having  resided  in  the 
State  one  year  next  preceding  the  election,  and  who  have 
paid,  or  are  charged  with,  a  state  or  county  tax,  shall  en 
joy  the  right  of  an  elector  ;  but  no  person  shall  be  entitled 
to  vote,  except  in  the  county  or  district  in  which  he 
shall  actually  reside  at  the  time  of  the  election. 

2.  All  elections  shall  be  by  ballot. 

3.  Electors  shall,  in  all  cases  except  treason,  felony, 
or  breach  of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during 
their  attendance  at  elections   ind  in  going  to  and  return 
ing  from  them. 

4.  The  legislature   shall  have  full  power  to  exclude 
from  the  privilege  of  electing,  or  being  elected,  any  per 
son  convicted  of  bribery,  perjury,  or  any  other  infamous 
crime. 

5.  Nothing  contained  in  this  article  shall  be  so  con 
strued  as  to  prevent  white  male  persons,  above  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  who  are  compelled  to  labor  on   the 
roads  of  their  respective  townships  or  counties,  who  have 
resided  one  year  in  the  State,  from  having  the  right  of  an 
elector. 

ARTICLE  5. 

SEC.  1.  Captains  and  subalterns  in  the  militia  shall  be 
elected  by  those  persons  in  their  respective  company  dis 
tricts  subject  to  military  duty. 

2.  Majors  shall  be  elected  by  the  captains  and  subal 
terns  of  the  battalion. 


1H3  CONSTITUTION  OF   OHIO. 

3.  Colonels  shall  be  elected  by  the  majors,  captains., 
and  subalterns  of  the  regiment. 

4.  Brigadiers-general  shall  be  elected  by  the  commis 
sioned  officers  of  their  respective  brigades. 

4.  Majors-general  and  quarter-masters-general  shall  be 
appointed  by  joint  ballot  of  both  Houses  of  the  legislature. 

6.  The   Governor  shall  appoint  the   adjutant-general. 
The  majors-general  shall  appoint  their  aids,  and  other  di 
vision  officers.     The  brigadiers  their  majors  ;  the  brigade- 
majors  their  staff  officers;  commanders  of  regiments  shall 
appoint  their  adjutants,  quarter-masters,  and  other  regi 
mental  staff  officers  ;  and  the  captains  and  subalterns  shall 
appoint  their  non-commissioned  officers  and  musicians. 

7.  The  captains  and  subalterns  of  the  artillery  and  ca 
valry  shall  be  elected  by  the  persons  enrolled  in  their  re 
spective  corps,  and  the  majors  and  colonels  shall  be  ap 
pointed  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  directed  by  law.  The 
colonels  shall  appoint  their  regimental  staff,  and  the  cap 
tains  and  subalterns  their  non-commissioned  officer)5  and 
musicians. 

ARTICLE  6. 

SEC.  1.  There  shall  be  elected  in  eacli  county  one 
sheriff  and  one  coroner,  by  the  citizens  thereof  who  are 
qualified  to  vote  for  members  of  the  Assembly  :  they  shall 
be  elected  at  the  time  and  place  of  holding  elections  for 
members  of  Assembly  ;  they  shall  continue  in  office  two 
years  if  they  shall  so  long  behave  well,  and  until  succes 
sors  be  chosen  and  duly  qualified  :  provided,  that  no  per 
son  shall  be  eligible  as  sheriff  for  a  longer  term  than  four 
years  in  any  term  of  six  years. 

2  The  state  treasurer  and  auditor  shall  be  triennially 
appointed,  by  a  joint  ballot  of  both  Houses  of  the  legisla 
ture. 

3.  All  town  and  township  officers  shall  be  chosen  an 
nually,  by  the  inhabitants  thereof  duly  qualified  to  vote 
for  members  of  the  Assembly,  at  such  time  and  place  as 
may  be  directed  by  law. 

4.  The  appointment  of  all  civil  officers,  not  otherwise 
directed  by  this  Constitution   shall  be  made  in  such  man 
ner  as  mny  be  directed  by  law. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  OHIO.  109 

ARTICLE  7. 

SEC.  1.  Every  person  who  shall  be  chosen  or  appoint 
ed  to  any  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  authority  of 
the  State,  shall  before  entering  on  the  execution  thereof, 
take  an  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  and  this  State,  and  also  an  oath  of  office. 

2.  Any  elector  who  shall  receive  any  gift  or  reward  for 
his  vote,  in  meat,  drink,  money,  or  otherwise,  shall  suffer 
such  punishment  as  the  law  shall  direct ;  and  any  person 
who  shall  directly  or  indirectly  give,  promise,  or  bestow 
any  such  reward  to  be  elected,  shall  thereby  be  rendered 
incapable  for  two  years  to  serve  in  the  office  for  which  he 
was  elected,  and  be  subject  to  such  other  punishment  as 
shall  be  directed  by  law. 

3.  No  new  county  shall  be  established  by  the  general 
Assembly  which  shall  reduce  the  county  or  counties,  or 
either  of  them,  from  which  it  shall  be  taken,  to  less  con 
tents  than  four  hundred  square  miles,  nor  shall  any  coun 
ty  be  laid  off  of  less  contents.     Every  new  county,  as  to 
the  right  of  suffrage  and  representation,  shall  be  consider 
ed  as  a  part  of  the  county  or  counties  from  which  it  was 
taken  until  entitled  by  numbers  to  the  right  of  representa 
tion. 

4.  Chillicothe  shall  be  the  seat  of  government  until  the 
year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight.     No  money 
shall  be  raised  until  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  nine,  by  the  legislature  of  this  State,  for  the  purpose 
of  erecting  public  buildings  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
legislature. 

5.  That,  after  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
six,  whenever  two-thirds  of  the  general  Assembly  shall 
think  it  necessary  to  amend  or  change  this  Constitution, 
they  shall  recommend  to  the  electors,  at  the  next  election 
for   members    to  the  general  Assembly,  to  vote  for  01 
against  a  convention  ;  and  if  it  shall  appear  that  amajori- 
ty  of  the  citizens  of  the  State,  voting  for  representatives,  have 
voted  for  a  convention,  the  general  Assembly  shall,  at  their 
next  session,  call  a  convention,  to  consist  of  as  many  mem 
bers  as  there  may  be  in  the  general  Assembly,  to  be  chosen 
in  the  same  manner,  at  the  same  places,  and  by  the  same 
electors  that  choose  the  general  Assembly,  who  shall  meet 

'  1-1 


170  CONSTITUTION*  OF  OHIO. 

within  three  months  after  the  said  election,  for  the  purpose  of 
revising,  amending,  or  changing  the  Constitution.  But  no 
alteration  of  this  Constitution  shall  ever  take  place,  so  as  to 
introduce  slavery  or  involuntary  servitude  into  this  State. 
6.  That  the  limits  and  boundaries  of  this  State  be  as 
certained,  it  is  declared,  that  they  are  as  hereafter  men 
tioned — that  is  to  say,  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Penn 
sylvania  line,  on  the  south  by  the  Ohio  river,  to  the  mouth 
of  the  great  Miami  river  ;  on  the  west  by  the  line  drawn 
due  north  from  the  mouth  of  the  great  Miami  aforesaid  ; 
and  on  the  north  by  an  east  and  west  line,  drawn  through 
the  southerly  extreme  of  Lake  Michigan,  running  east, 
after  intersecting  the  due  north  line  aforesaid,  from  the 
mouth  of  the  great  Miami,  until  it  shall  intersect  Lake 
Erie,  or  the  territorial  line,  and  thence  with  the  same 
through  Lake  Erie  to  the  Pennsylvania  line  aforesaid : 
Provided,  always,  and  it  is  hereby  fully  understood  and 
declared  by  this  convention,  that  if  the  southerly  bend  or 
extreme  of  Lake  Michigan  should  extend  so  far  south, 
that  a  line  drawn  due  east  from  it  should  not  intersect 
Lake  Erie^  or  if  it  should  intersect  the  said  Lake  Erie 
east  of  the  mouih  of  the  Miami  river  of  the  Lake,  then 
and  in  that  case,  with  the  assent  of  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  the  northern  boundary  of  this  State  shall 
be  established  by,  and  extended  to  a  direct  line,  running 
from  the  southern  extremity  of  Lake  Michigan,  to  the 
most  northerly  cape  of  the  Miami  Bay,  after  intersecting 
the  due  north  line  from  the  mouth  of  the  great  Miami  river 
as  aforesaid,  thence  north-east  to  the  territorial  line,  and  by 
the  said  territorial  line  to  the  Pennsylvania  line. 

ARTICLE  8. 

That  the  general,  great,  and  essential  principles  of 
liberty  and  free  government  may  be  recognised,  and  for 
ever  unalterably  established,  we  declare, 

SEC.  1.  That  all  men  are  born  equally  free  and  inde 
pendent,  and  have  certain  natural,  inherent,  and  unalien- 
able  rights,  amongst  which  are  the  enjoying  and  defend 
ing  life  and  liberty,  acquiring,  possessing,  and  protecting 
property,  and  pursuing  and  obtaining  happiness  and  safe 
ty  ;  and  every  free  republican  government,  being  founded 


CONSTITUTION  OF    OHIO.  171 

on  their  sole  authority,  and  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
protecting  their  liberties,  and  securing  their  independence 
— to  effect  these  ends  they  have  at  all  times  a  complete 
power  to  alter,  reform,  or  abolish  their  government,  when 
ever  they  may  deem  it  necessary. 

2.  There  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  ser 
vitude  in  this  State,  otherwise  than  for  the  punishment  of 
crimes,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted  ; 
nor  shall  any  male  person,  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  nor  female  person,  arrived  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years,  be  held  to  serve  any  person  as  a  servant  under  pre 
tence  of  indenture,  or  otherwise,  unless  such  person  shall 
enter  into  such  indenture  while  in  a  state  of  perfect  free 
dom,  and  on  condition  of  a  bona  fide  consideration,  re 
ceived  or  to  be  received  for  their  service,  except  as  before 
excepted.     Nor  shall  any  indenture  of  any  negro  or  mu 
latto  hereafter  made  and  executed,  out  of  this  State,  or, 
if  made  in  the  State,  where  the  term  of  service  exceeds 
one  year,  be  of  the  least  validity,  except  those  given  in 
the  case  of  apprenticeships. 

3.  ThaJ;  all  men  have  a  natural  and  indefeasible  right 
to  worship  Almighty  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their 
own  consciences  ;  that  no  human  authority  can  in  any 
case  whatever  control  or  interfere  with  the  rights  of  con 
science  ;    that    no    man    shall    be    compelled   to   attend, 
erect,  or  support  any  place  of  worship,  or  to  maintain  any 
ministry,  against  his  consent ;  and  that  no  preference  shall 
ever  be  given  by  law  to  any  religious  society  or  mode  of 
worship:  and  no  religious  test  shall  be  required  as  a  quali 
fication  to  any  office  of  trust  or  profit.     But  religion,  mo 
rality,  and  knowledge,  being  essentially  necessary  to  the 
government,  and  the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools,  and 
the  means  of  instruction,  shall  forever  be  encouraged  by 
legislative  provision,  not  inconsistent  with  the  rights  of 
conscience. 

4.  Private  property  ought,  and  shall  ever  be  held  invi 
olate,  but  always  subservient  to  the  public  welfare,  provi 
ded  a  compensation  in  money  be  made  to  the  owner. 

5.  That  the  people  shall  be  secure  in  their  persons, 
houses,  papers,  and  possessions  from  all  unwarrantable 
searches  and  seizures  ;  and  that  general  warrants,  where- 


172  CONSTITUTION  OF  OHIO. 

by  an  officer  may  be  commanded  to  search  suspected 
places,  without  probable  evidence  of  the  fact  committed, 
or  to  seize  any  person  or  persons  not  named,  whose  of 
fences  are  not  particularly  described,  and  without  oath  or 
affirmation,  are  dangerous  to  liberty,  and  shall  not  be 
granted. 

6.  That  the  printing  presses  shall  be  open  and  free  to 
every  citizen  who  wishes  to  examine  the  proceedings  of 
any  branch  of  government,  or  the  conduct  of  any  public 
officer ;  and  no  law  shall  ever  restrain  the  right  thereof. 
Every  citizen  has  an  indisputable  right  to  speak,  write, 
or  print  upon  any  subject,  as  he  thinks  proper,  being  liable 
for  the   abuse  of  that  liberty.     In  prosecutions  for  any 
publication  respecting  the  official  conduct  of  men  in  a 
public  capacity,  or  where  the  matter  published  is  proper 
for  public  information,    the    truth   thereof  may   always 
be  given  in  evidence  ;  and  in  all  indictments  for  libels,  the 
jury  shall  have  a  right  to  determine  the  law  and  the  facts, 
under  the  direction  of  the  court,  as  in  other  cases. 

7.  That  all  courts  shall  be  open,  and  every  person,  for  any 
injury  done  him  in  his  lands,  goods,  person,  or  reputation, 
shall  have  remedy  by  the  due  course  of  law  ;  and  right 
and  justice  administered  without  denial  or  delay.  . 

8.  That  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  inviolate. 

9.  That  no  power  of  suspending  the  laws  shall  be  ex 
ercised,  unless  by  the  legislature. 

10.  That  no  person  arrested  or  confined  in  jail  shall  be 
treated  with  unnecessary  rigour,  or  be  put  to  answer  any 
criminal  charge,  but  by  presentment,  indictment,  or  im 
peachment. 

11.  That  in  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  hath 
a  right  to  be  heard  by  himself  and  his  counsel,  to  demand 
the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation  against  him,  and  to 
have  a  copy  thereof;  to  meet  the  witnesses  face  to  face  ; 
to  have  compulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his 
favor ;  and,  in  prosecutions  by  indictment  or  presentment,  a 
speedy  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  county  or 
district  in  which  the  offence  shall  have  been  committed, 
and  shall  not  be  compelled  to  give  evidence  against  him 
self — nor  shall  he  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  for  the  same 
offence 


CONSTITUTION  OF  OHIO.  173 

12.  That  all  persons    shall   be    bailable  by  sufficient 
sureties  unless  for  capital  offences,  where  the  proof  is  evi 
dent,  or  the  presumption  great,  and  the  privilege  of  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended,  unless 
when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public  safety 
may  require  it. 

13.  Excessive    bail  shall  not  be  required,   excessive 
fines  shall  not  be  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punish 
ments  inflicted. 

14.  All  penalties  shall  be  proportioned  to  the  nature  of 
the  offence.     No  wise  legislature  will  affix  the  same  pun 
ishments   to   the   crimes  of  theft,   forgery,  and  the  like, 
which  they  do  to  those  of  murder  and  treason.     When 
the  same  undistinguished  severity  is  exerted  against  all 
offences,  the  people  are  led  to  forget  the  real  distinction 
in  the  crimes  themselves,  and  to  commit  the  most  flagrant 
with  as  little  compunction  as  they  do  the  lightest  offences. 
For  the  same  reasons,  a  multitude  of  sanguinary  laws  ar? 
both  impolitic  and  unjust ;  the  true  design  of  all  punish 
ments  being  to  reform,  not  to  exterminate  mankind. 

15.  The  person  of  a  debtor,  where  there-  is  not  strong 
presumption  of  fraud,  shall  not  be  continued  in  prison  after 
delivering  up  his  estate  for  the  benefit  of  his  creditor  or 
creditors,  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  law. 

16.  No  ex  post  facto  law,  nor  any  law  impairing  the 
validity  of  contracts,  shall  ever  be  made  ;  and  no  convic 
tion  shall  work  corruption  of  blood,  or  forfeiture  of  estate. 

17.  That  no  person  shall  be  liable  to  be  transported  out 
of  this  State,  for  any  offence  committed  within  the  State. 

18.  That  a   frequent   recurrence    to   the   fundamental 
principles  of  civil  government  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
preserve  the  blessings  of  liberty. 

19.  That  the  people  have  a  right  to  assemble  together, 
in  a  peaceable  manner,  to  consult  for  their  common  good, 
to  instruct  their  representatives,  and  to  apply  to  the  legisla 
ture  for  redress  of  grievances. 

20.  That  the  people  have  a  right  to  bear  arms  for  the 
defence  of  themselves  and  the  State  ;  and  as  standing  ar 
mies  in  time  of  peace  are  dangerous  to  liberty,  they  shall 
not  be  kept  up,  and  that  the  military  shall  be  kept  under 
strict  subordination  lo  the  civil  power. 

15* 


174  CONSTITUTION  OF  OHIO. 

21.  That  no  person  in  this  State,  except  such  as  are 
employed  in  the  Army  or  Navy  of  the  United  States,  or 
militia  in  actual   service,  shall   be   subject   to  corporeal 
punishment  under  the  military  law. 

22.  That  no  soldier  in  time  of  peace  be  quartered  in 
any  house  without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time 
of  war,  but  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  law. 

23.  That  the  levying  taxes  by  the  poll  is  grievous  and 
oppressive  ;  therefore,  the  legislature  shall  never  levy  a 
poll  tax  for  county  or  state  purposes. 

24.  That  no  hereditary  emoluments,  privileges,  or  ho 
nors  shall  ever  be  granted  or  conferred  by  this  State. 

25.  That  no  law  shall  be  passed  to  prevent  the  poor  in 
the  several  counties  and  townships  within  this  State,  from 
an  equal  participation  in  the  schools,  academies,  colleges, 
and  universities  within  this  State,  which  are  endowed,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  from  the  revenue  arising  from   the  do 
nations  made  by  the  United  States  for  the  support  of 
schools  and  colleges;  and  the  doors  of  the  said  schools,  aca 
demies,  and  universities  shall  be  open  for  the  reception  of 
scholars,  students,  and  teachers  of  every  grade,  without 
any  distinction  or  preference   whatever,  contrary  to  the 
intent  for  which  the  said  donations  were  made. 

26.  That  laws  shall  be  passed  by  the  legislature  which 
shall  secure  to  each  and  every  denomination  of  religious 
societies,  in  each  surveyed   township,  which  now  is,  or 
may  hereafter  be,  formed  in  the  State,  an  equal  participa 
tion,  according  to  their  number  of  adherents,  of  the  profits 
arising  from  the  land  granted  by  Congress  for  the  support 
of  religion,  agreeably  to  the  ordinance  or  act  of  Congress 
making  the  appropriation. 

27.  That  every  association  of  persons,  when  regularly 
formed  within  this  State,  and  having  given   themselves  a 
name,  may,  on  application  to   the  legislature,  be  entitled 
to  receive  letters  of  incorporation,  to  enable  them  to  hold 
estates,  real  and  personal,  for  the  support  of  their  schools, 
academies,  colleges,  universities,  and  other  purposes. 

28.  To  guard  against  the  transgression   ot   the   high 
powers   which  we  have    delegated,   we  declare,  that  all 
powers  not  hereby  delegated  remain  with  the  people. 


CONSTITUTION'    OF    OHIO.  175 

SCHEDULE. 

SEC.  1.  That  no  evils  or  inconveniences  may  arise 
from  the  change  of  a  territorial  government  to  a  perma 
nent  state  government;  it  is  declared  by  this  Convention 
that  all  rights,  suits,  actions,  prosecutions,  claims,  and 
contracts,  both  as  it  respects  individuals  and  bodies  cor 
porate,  shall  continue  as  if  no  change  had  taken  place  in 
this  government. 

2.  All  fines,  penalties,  and  forfeitures,  due  and  owing 
to  the  territory  of  the   United   States,  north-west  of  the 
Ohio  river,  shall  inure  to  the  use  of  the  State.     All  bonds 
executed  to  the  Governor,  or  any  other  officer  in  his  offi 
cial  capacity  in  the  territory,  shall  pass  over  to  the  Go 
vernor,  or  the  other  officers  of  the   State,  and  their  suc 
cessors  in  office,  for  the  use  of  the  State,  or  by  him   or 
them  to  be  respectively  assigned  over  to  the  use  of  those 
concerned,  as  the  case  may  be. 

3.  The  Governor,  secretary,  and  judges,  and  all  other 
officers  under  the  territorial  government,  shall  continue  in 
the  exercise  of  the  duties  of  their  respective  departments 
until  the  said  officers  are  superseded  under  the  authority 
of  this  Constitution. 

4.  All  laws  and  parts  of  laws  now  in  force  in  this  ter 
ritory,  not  inconsistent  with  this  Constitution,  shall  con 
tinue  and  remain  in  full  effect  until  repealed  by  the  legis 
lature,  except  so  much  of  the  act  entitled  "  An  act  regula 
ting  the  admission  and  practice  of  attorneys  and  counsel 
lors  at  law  ;"  and  of  the  act  made  amendatory  thereto,  as 
relates  to  the  term  of  time  which  the  applicant  shall  have 
studied  law>  his  residence  within  the   territory,  and  the 
term  of  time  which  he  shall  have  practised  as  an  attorney 
at  law,  before  he  can  be  admitted  to  the  degree  of  a  coun 
sellor  at  law. 

5.  The  Governor  of  the  State  shall  make  use  of  hift 
private  seal,  until  a  state  seal  be  procured. 

6.  The  president  of  the  Convention  shall  issue  writs 
of  election  to  the  sheriffs   of  the  several  counties,  requi 
ring  them  to  proceed  to  the  election  of  Governor,  mem 
bers  of  the  general  Assembly,  sheriffs,  and  coroners,  at 
the  respective  election  districts   in  each  county,  on  the 
second  Tuesday  of  January  next,  which  elections  shall 


17ft  CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY. 

0 

be  conducted  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the  existing 
election  laws  of  this  territory;  and  the  members  of  the 
general  Assembly,  sheriffs,  and  coroners  then  elected, 
shall  continue  to  exercise  the  duties  of  their  respective 
offices  until  the  next  annual  or  biennial  election  thereafter, 
as  prescribed  in  this  Constitution,  and  no  longer. 

7.  Until  the  first  enumeration  shall  be  made,  as  direct 
ed  in  the  second  section  of  the  first  article  of  this  Consti 
tution,  the  county  of  Hamilton  shall  be  entitled  to  four 
senators  and  eight  representatives  ;  the  county  of  Cler- 
mont,  one  senator  and  two  representatives  ;  the  county  of 
Adams,  one  senator  and  three  representatives  ;  the  county 
of  Ross,  two  senators  and  four  representatives  ;  the  coun 
ty  of  Fairfield,  one  senator  and  two  representatives  ;  the 
county  of  Washington,  two  senators  and  three  represen 
tatives  ;  the  county  of  Belmont,  one  senator  and  two  re 
presentatives  ;  the  county  of  Jefferson,  two  senators  and 
four  representatives  ;  and  the  county  of  Trumbull,  one 
senator  and  two  representatives. 

Done  in  Convention,  at  Chillicothe,  on  the  29th  day  of 
November,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1802,  and  of  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  27th. 

EDWARD  TIFFIN,  President, 
fittest,  THO.  SCOTT,  Secretary. 


CONSTITUTION   OF   KENTUCKY. 

ARTICLE  1. 
Concerning  the  Legislative  Department. 

SEC.  1.  The  powers  of  the  government  of  the  State  of 
Kentucky  shall  be  divided  into  three  distinct  departments, 
and  each  of  them  be  confided  to  a  separate  body  of  magis 
tracy,  to  wit:  those  which  are  legislative,  to  one;  those 
which  are  executive,  to  another;  and  those  which  are  ju 
diciary,  to  another. 


CONSTITUTION*  OF  KENTUCKY.  177 

2.  No  person  or  collection  of  persons,  being  one  of 
those  departments,  shall  exercise  any  power  properly  be 
longing  to  either  of  the  others ;  except  in  the  instances 
hereinafter  expressly  directed  or  permitted. 

ARTICLE  2. 

Concerning  the  Distribution  of  the  Powers  of  the 
Government. 

SEC.  1.  The  legislative  power  of  this  commonwealth 
shall  be  vested  in  two  distinct  branches ;  the  one  to  be 
styled  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  other  the  Senate, 
and  both  together,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Common 
wealth  of  Kentucky. 

2.  The  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
continue  in  service  for  the  term  of  one  year  from  the  day 
of  the  commencement  of  the   general   election,  and  no 
longer. 

3.  Representatives  shall  be  chosen  on  the  first  Monday 
in  the  month  of  August  in  every  year;  but  the  presiding 
officers  of  the  several  elections  shall  continue  the  same  for 
three  days,  at  the  request  of  any  one  of  the  candidates. 

4.  No  person  shall  be  a  representative,  who  at  the  time 
of  his  election  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and 
hath  not  attained  to  the  age  of  twenty-four  years,  and  re 
sided  in  this  State  two  years  next  preceding  his  election, 
and  the  last  year  thereof  in  the  county  or  town  for  which 
he  may  be  chosen. 

5.  Elections  for  representatives  for  the  several  counties 
entitled  to  representation,  shall  be  held  at  the  places  of 
holding  their  respective  courts,  or  in  the  several  election 
precincts  into   which   the  legislature  may  think  proper, 
from  time  to  time,  to  divide  any  or  all  of  those  counties  : 
Provided,  that  when  it  shall  appear  to  the  legislature  that 
any  town  hath  a  number  of  qualified  voters  equal  to  the 
ratio  then  fixed,  such  town  shall  be  invested  with  the  pri 
vilege  of  a  separate  representation,  which  shall  be  retain 
ed  so  long  as  such  town  shall  contain  a  number  of  quali 
fied  voters  equal  to  the   ratio  which  may,  from  time  to 
time,   be  fixed   by  law,   and  thereafter  elections,  for  the 
county  in  which  such  town  is  situated,  shall  not  be  held 
therein, 


178  CONSTITUTION  OF  KF.VITCKY. 

G.  Representation  shall  be  equal  and  uniform  in  this 
commonwealth;  and  shall  be  for  ever  regulated  and  as 
certained  by  the  number  of  qualified  electors  therein.  In 
the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  three,  and  every  fourth 
year  thereafter,  an  enumeration  of  all  the  free  male  inhabi 
tants  of  the  State,  above  twenty-one  years  of  age,  shall  be 
made,  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  directed  by  law.  The 
number  of  representatives  shall,  in  the  several  years  of 
making  these  enumerations,  be  so  fixed  as  not  to  be  less 
than  fifty-eight,  nor  more  than  one  hundred,  and  they 
shall  be  apportioned  for  the  four  years  next  following,  as 
near  as  may  be,  among  the  several  counties  and  towns, 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  qualified  electors  :  but, 
when  a  county  may  not  have  a  sufficient  number  of  quali 
fied  electors  to  entitle  it  to  one  representative,  and  when 
the  adjacent  county  or  counties  may  no^have  a  residuum 
or  residuums,  which,  when  added  to  the  small  county, 
would  entitle  it  to  a  separate  representation,  it  shall  then 
be  in  the  power  of  the  legislature  to  join  two  or  more  to 
gether,  for  the  purpose  of  sending  a  representative  :  Pro 
vided,  that  when  there  are  two  or  more  counties  adjoin 
ing,  which  have  residuums  over  and  above  the  ratio  when 
fixed  by  law,  if  said  residuums  when  added  together  will 
amount  to  such  ratio,  in  that  case  one  representative  shall 
be  added  to  that  county  having  the  largest  residuum. 

7.  The   'House   of  Representatives   shall   choose   its 
Speaker  and  other  officers. 

8.  In  all  elections  for  representatives,  every  free  male 
citizen  (negroes,  mulattoes,  and  inclians  excepted)  who, 
at  the  time  being,  hath  attained  to  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  and  resided  in  the  State  two  years,  or  the  county 
or  town  in  which  he  offers  to  vote  one  year  next  prece 
ding  the  election,  shall  enjoy  the  right  of  an  elector;  but 
no  person  shall  be  entitled  to  vote,  except  in  the  county 
or  town  in  which  he  may  actually  reside  at  the  time  of 
the   election,    except   as  is   herein  otherwise   provided. 
Electors  shall  in  all  cases,  except  treason,  felony,  breach 
or  surety   of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during 
their  attendance  at,  going  to,  and  returning  from  elections. 

9.  The  members  of  the  Senate  shall  be  chosen  for  the 
term  of  four  years ;  and  when  assembled  shall  have  the 
power  to  choose  its  officers  annually. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY.  170 

10.  At  the  first  session  of  the  general  Assembly  after 
this  Constitution  takes  effect,  the  senators  shall  be  divided 
by  lot,  as  equally  as  may  be,  into  four  classes  :  the  seats 
of  the  senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  ex 
piration  of  the  first  year;  of  the  second  class,  at  the  expi 
ration  of  the  second  year  ;  of  the  third  class,  at  the  expira 
tion  of  the  third  year  ;  and  of  the  fourth  class,  at  the  expira 
tion  of  the  fourth  year  ;  so  that  one-fourth  shall  be  chosen 
every  year,  and  a  rotation  thereby  kept  up  perpetually. 

11.  The  Senate  shall  consist  of  twenty-four  members 
at  least,  and  for  every  three  members  above  fifty-eight, 
which  shall  be   added   to   the  House  of  Representatives, 
one  member  shall  be  added  to  the  Senate. 

12.  The    same   number   of  senatorial   districts    shall, 
from  time  to   time,  be  established  by  the  legislature,  as 
there  may  then  be  senators  allotted  to  the  State  ;  which 
shall  be  so  formed  as  to  contain,  as  near  as  may  be,  an 
equal  number  of  free  male  inhabitants  in  each,  above  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  so  that  no  county  shall  be 
divided,  or  form  more  than  one  district  ;  and  where  two 
or  more   counties   compose   a  district,  they  shall  be  ad 
joining. 

13.  When  an   additional  senator  may  be  added  to  the 
Senate,  he  shall  be  annexed. by  lotto  one  of  the  four  classes, 
so  as  to  keep  them  as  nearly  equal  in  number  as  possible. 

14.  One  senator  for  each  district  shall  be  elected  by 
those  qualified  to  vote  for  representatives  therein,  who 
shall  give  their  votes  at  the  several  places  is  the  counties 
or  towns  where  elections  are  by  law  directed  to  be  held. 

15.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who,  at  the  time  of 
his  election,  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who 
hath  not  attained   to   the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  re 
sided  in  this  State  six  years  next  preceding  his  election, 
and   the  last  year  thereof  in  the  district  from  which  he 
may  be  chosen. 

16.  The  first  election  for  senators  shall  be    general 
throughout  the  State,  and  at  the  same  time  that  the  gene 
ral  election  for  representatives  is  held ;  and  thereafter  there 
shall,  in  like  manner,  be  an  annual  election  for  senators,  to 
fill  the  places  of  those  whose  time  of  service  may  have 
expired. 


1RO  CONSTITUTION  OF   KKXTUCKV. 

17.  The  general  Assembly  shall  convene  on   the  first 
Monday  in  the  month  of  November  in  every  year,  unless 

^a  different  day  be  appointed   by  law  ;  and  their  session 
shall  be  held  at  the  seat  of  government. 

18.  Not  less  than  a  majority  of  the  members  of  each 
House  of  the  general  Assembly  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to 
do  business  ;  but  asmallernumber  may  adjourn  from  day  to 
day,  and  shall  be   authorized   by  law  to  compel   the   at 
tendance  of  absent  members,  in  such  manner,  and  under 
such  penalties,  as  may  be  prescribed  thereby. 

19.  Each  House  of  the  general  Assembly  shall  judge 
of  the   qualifications,  elections,  and  returns  of  its   mem 
bers  ;  but  a  contested  election  shall  be  determined  in  such 
manner  as  shall  be  directed  by  law. 

20.  Each  House  of  the   general  Assembly  may  deter 
mine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings  ;  punish  a  member  for 
disorderly  behavior  ;  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two- 
thirds,    expel  a  member,    but  not  a  second  time  for  the 
same  cause. 

21.  Each  House   of  the  general  Assembly  shall  keep 
and  publish,  weekly,  a  journal  of  its   proceedings;  and 
the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  on  any  question  shall, 
at  the  desire  of  any  two  of  them,  be  entered   on  their 
journal. 

22.  Neither  House,  during  the  session  of  the  general 
Assembly,   shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  other,  ad 
journ  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place 
than  that  in  which  they  may  be  sitting. 

23.  The  members  of  the  general  Assembly  shall  seve 
rally  receive  from  the  public  treasury  a  compensation  for 
their  services,  which  shall  be  one  dollar  and  a  half  a  day, 
during  their  attendance  on,  going  to,  and  returning  from 
the  session  of  their  respective  Houses  :  Provided,  that  the 
same  may  be  increased  or  diminished  by  law  ;  but  no  al 
teration  shall  take  effect  during  the  session  at  which  such 
alteration  shall  be  made. 

24.  The  members  of  the  general  Assembly  shall,  in  all 
cases,  except   treason,  felony,  breach   or  surety  of  the 
peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest,  during  their  attendance 
at  the  sessions  of  their  respective  Houses,  and  in   going 


CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY.  181 

to,  and  returning  from  the  same ;  and  for  any  speech  or 
debate,  in  either  House,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in 
any  other  place. 

25.  No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  term 
for  which  he  was  elected,  nor  for  one  year  thereafter,  be 
appointed  or  elected  to  any  civil  office  of  profit  under  this 
commonwealth,  which  shall  have  been  created,   or  the 
emoluments  of  which  shall  have  been  increased,  during  the 
time  such  senator  or  representative  was  in   office,  except 
to  such  offices  or  appointments  as  may  be  made  or  filled 
by  the  elections  of  the  people. 

26.  No   person,  while    he  continues  to  exercise  the 
functions  of  a  clergyman,  priest,  or  teacher,  of  any  reli 
gious  persuasion,  society,  or  sect ;  nor  whilst  he  holds  or 
exercises  any  office  of  profit  under  this  commonwealth, 
shall  be  eligible  to  the   general  Assembly ;  except  attor 
neys   at  law,  justices  of  the  peace,  and  militia  officers: 
Provided,  that  justices  of  the  courts  of  quarter  sessions 
shall  be  ineligible  so  long  as  any  compensation  may  be 
allowed  them  for  their   services:  Provided,  also,  that  at 
torneys  for  the  commonwealth,  who  receive  a  fixed   an 
nual  salary  from  the  public  treasury,  shall  be  ineligible. 

27.  No  person  who  at  any  time  may  have  been  a  col 
lector  of  taxes  for  the  State,  or  the  assistant  or  deputy  of 
such  collector,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  general  Assembly 
until  he  shall  have  obtained  a  quietus  for  the  amount  of 
such  collection,  and  for  all  public  moneys  for  which  he 
may  be  responsible. 

28.  No  bill  shall  have  the  force  of  a  law  until  on  three 
several  days  it  be  read  over  in  each  House  of  the  general 
Assembly,  and  free  discussion  allowed  thereon  ;  unless,  in 
cases  of  urgency,  four-fifths  of  the  House  where  the  bill 
shall  be  depending,  may  deem  it  expedient  to  dispense 
with  this  rule. 

29.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in   the 
House  of  Representatives  ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose 
amendments,  as  in  other  bills  :  Provided,  that  they  shall 
not   introduce    any   new   matter,  under  the   color  of  an 
amendment,  which  does  not  relate  to  raising  a  revenue. 

30.  The  general  Assembly  shall  regulate,  by  law,  bv 

10 


182  CONSTITUTION-  OF   KENTUCKY. 

whom  and  in  what  manner  writs  of  election  shall  be  is 
sued  to  fill  the  vacancies  which  may  happen  in  either 
branch  thereof. 

ARTICLE  3. 
Concerning  the  Executive  Department. 

SEC.  1.  The  supreme  executive  power  of  the  com 
monwealth  shall  be  vested  in  a  chief  magistrate,  who 
shall  be  styled  the  Governor  of  the  commonwealth  of 
Kentucky. 

2.  The  Governor  shall  be  elected  for  the  term  of  four 
years  by  the  citizens  entitled  to  suffrage  at  the  time  and 
places  where  they  shall  respectively  vote  for  representa 
tives.     The  person  having  the  highest  number  of  votes 
shall  be  Governor  ;  but  if  two  or  more  shall  be  equal  and 
highest  in  votes,  the  election  shall  be  determined  by  lot, 
in  such  manner  as  the  legislature  may  direct. 

3.  The  Governor  shall  be  ineligible  for  the  succeeding 
seven  years  after  the  expiration  of  the  time  for  which  he 
shall  have  been  elected. 

4.  He  shall  be  at  least  thirty-five  years  of  age,  and  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  have  been  an  inhabitant 
of  this  State  at  least  six  years  next  preceding  his  elec 
tion. 

5.  He  shall  commence  the  execution  of  his  office  on 
the  fourth  Tuesday  succeeding  the  day  of  the  commence 
ment  of  the  general  election  on  which  he  shall  be  chosen, 
and  shall  continue  in  the  execution  thereof  until  the  end 
of  four  weeks  next  succeeding  the  election  of  his  succes 
sor,  and  until  his  successor  shall  have  taken  the  oaths  or 
affirmations  prescribed  by  this  Constitution. 

6.  No  member  of  Congress,  or  person  holding  any  of 
fice  under  the   United  States,  nor   minister   of  any  reli 
gious  society,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  Governor. 

7.  The  Governor  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his 
services  a  compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased 
nor  diminished  during  the  term  for  which  he   shall  have 
been  elected. 

8.  He    shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and 
navy  of  this  commonwealth,  and  of  the   militia  thereof, 


CONSTITUTION  Ol<    KENTUCKY.  iH3 

except  when  they  shall  be  called  into  the  service  of  the 
United  States ;  but  he  shall  not  command  personally  in 
the  field,  unless  he  shall  be  advised  so  to  do  by  a  resolu 
tion  of  the  general  Assembly. 

9.  He  shall  nominate,  and,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate,  appoint  all  officers  whose  offices 
are  established  by  this  Constitution  or  shall  be  established 
bylaw,  and  whose  appointments  are  not  herein  otherwise 
provided  for :  Provided,  that  no  person  shall  be  so  ap 
pointed  to  an  office  within   any  county,  who  shall  not 
have  been  a  citizen  and  inhabitant  therein  one  year  next 
before  his  appointment,  if  the  county  shall  have  been  so 
long  erected  ;  but  if  it  shall  not  have  been  so  long  erected, 
then  within  the  limits  of  the  county  or  counties  from 
which  it  shall  have  been  taken :  Provided,  also,  that  the 
county  courts  be  authorized  by  law  to  appoint  inspectors, 
collectors,  and  their  deputies,  surveyors  of  the  highways, 
constables,  jailers,  and  such  other  inferior  officers,  whose 
jurisdiction  may  be  confined  within  the  limits  of  a  county. 

10.  The  Governor  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  vacancies 
that  may  happen   during  the  recess   of  the   Senate,  by 
granting  commissions,  which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of 
the  next  session. 

]  1.  He  shall  have  power  to  remit  fines  and  forfeitures, 
grant  reprieves  and  pardons,  except  in  cases  of  impeach 
ment.  In  cases  of  treason,  he  shall  have  power  to  grant 
reprieves  until  the  end  of  the  next  session  of  the  general 
Assembly;  in  which  the  power  of  pardoning  shall  be 
vested. 

12.  He  may  require  information  in  writing  from  the 
officers   in   the  executive   department,  upon  any  subject 
relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices. 

13.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  general  As 
sembly  information  of  the  state  of  the  commonwealth,  and 
recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he 
shall  deem  expedient. 

14.  He  may  on  extraordinary  occasions  convene  the 
general  Assembly  at  the  seat  of  government,  or  at  a  differ 
ent  place,  if  that  should  have  become,  since  their  last  ad 
journment,  dangerous  from  an  enemy,  or  from  contagious 
disorders ;    and  in  case  of  disagreement  between  the  two 


1H1  CCLNST1TUTIO.N   OF   KE.VJLCKV. 

Houses,  with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  adjourn 
them  to  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper,  not  exceeding 
four  months. 

15.  He  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  exe 
cuted. 

16.  A  Lieutenant-Governor  shall  be  chosen  at  every 
election  for  a  Governor,  in  the  same  manner,  continue  in 
office  for  the  same  time,  and  possess  the  same  qualifica 
tions.     In  voting  for  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor, 
the  electors  shall  distinguish  whom  they  vote  for  as  Gover 
nor,  and  whom  as  Lieutenant-Governor. 

17.  He  shall,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  be  speaker  of  the 
Senate,  have  a  right,  when  in  committee  of  the  whole,  to 
debate  and  vote  on  all  subjects  ;  and,  when  the  Senate  are 
equally  divided,  to  give  the  casting  vote. 

18.  In  case  of  the  impeachment  of  the   Governor,  his 
removal  from  office,  death,  refusal  to  qualify,  resignation, 
or  absence  from  the  State,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  shall 
exercise  all  the  power  and  authority  appertaining  to  the 
office  of  Governor,  until  another  be  duly  qualified,  or  the 
Governor  absent  or  impeached  shall  return  or  be  acquitted. 

19.  Whenever  the  government  shall  be  administered 
by  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  or  he   shall  be  unable  to 
attend  as  Speaker  of  the  Senate,  the  senators  shall  elect 
one  of  their  own  members  as  Speaker,  for  that  occasion. 
And  if,  during  the  vacancy  of  the  office  of  Governor,  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  shall  be  impeached,  removed  from 
office,  refuse  to  qualify,  resign,  die,  or  be  absent  from  the 
State,  the  Speaker  of  the   Senate  shall,  in  like  manner, 
administer  the  government. 

20.  The  Lieutenant-Governor,  while  he  acts  as  Speaker 
to  the  Senate,  shall  receive  for  his  services  the  same  com 
pensation  which  shall  for  the  same  period  be  allowed  to 
the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  no 
more  ;  and  during  the  time  he  administers  the  government 
as  Governor,  shall  receive  the  same  compensation  which 
the  Governor  would  have  received  and  been  entitled  to 
had  he  been  employed  in  the  duties  of  his  office. 

21.  The  Speaker  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate,  during  the 
'line  he  administers  the  government,  shall  receive  in  like 


CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY.  185 

manner  the  same  compensation  which  the  Governor 
would  have  received  had  he  been  employed  in  the  duties 
of  his  office. 

22.  If  the  Lieutenant-Governoi  shall  be  called  upon  to 
administer  the  government,  and  shall,  while  in  such  ad 
ministration,  resign,   die,  or  be   absent  from  the  State 
during  the  recess  of  the  general  Assembly,  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  secretary,  for  the  time  being,  to  convene  the 
Senate  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  a  Speaker. 

23.  An  attorney-general,  and  such  other  attorneys  for 
the  commonwealth  as  may  be  necessary,  shall  be  appointed, 
whose  duty  shall  be  regulated  bylaw.     Attorneys  for  the 
commonwealth,  for  the  several  counties,  shall  be  appointed 
by  the  respective  courts  having  jurisdiction  therein. 

24.  A  secretary  shall  be  appointed  and  commissioned 
during  the  term  for  which  the  Governor  shall  have  been 
elected,  if  he  shall  so  long  behave  himself  well.     He  shall 
keep  a  fair  register,  and  attest  all  the  official  acts  and  pro 
ceedings  of  the  Governor,  and  shall,  when  required,  lay 
the  same,  and  all  papers,  minutes,  and  vouchers,  relative 
thereto,  before  either  House  of  the  general  Assembly,  and 
shall  perform  such  other  duties  as  may  be  enjoined  him 
by  law. 

25.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  both  Houses 
shall  be  presented  to  the  Governor :   if  he  approve,  he 
shall  sign  it,  but  if  not,  he  shall  return  it  with  his  objec 
tions,  to  the  House  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who 
shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  upon  the  journal,  and 
proceed  1o  reconsider  it;  if,  after  such  reconsideration,  a 
majority  of  all  the  members  elected  to   that  House  shall 
agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  with  the  objections, 
to  the  other  House,  by  which  it  shall   be  likewise  con 
sidered,  and  if  approved  by  a  majority  of  all  the  members 
elected  to  that  House,  it  shall  be  a  law  ;  but  in  such  cases 
the  votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and 
nays,  and  the  persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall 
be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each  House  respectively  ;  if 
any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the   Governor,  within 
ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  pre 
sented  to  him,  it  shall  be  a  law  in  like  manner  as  if  he 
had   signed  it,  unless  the  general  Assembly  by  their  ad- 

16* 


1&6  CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY. 

journment  prevent  its  return;  in  which  case  it  shall  be  a 
law,  unless  sent  back  within  three  days  after  their  next 
meeting. 

26.  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote,  to  which  the  con 
currence  of  both  Houses  may  be  necessary,  except  on  a 
question  of  adjournment,  shall  be  presented  to  the  Gover 
nor,  and  before  it  shall  take  effect,  be  approved  by  him  ; 
or,  being  disapproved,  shall  be  repassed,  by  a  majority  of 
all  the  members  elected  to  both  Houses,  according  to  the 
rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  case  of  a  bill. 

27.  Contested    elections   for  a  Governor  and  Lieute- 
nant-Governor  shall  be  determined  by  a  committee  to  be 
selected  from  both  Houses  of  the  general  Assembly,  and 
formed  and  regulated  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  directed 
by  law. 

28.  The  freemen  of  this  commonwealth  (negroes,  mu- 
lattoes,  and  indians  excepted)  shall  be  armed  and  disci 
plined  for  its  defence.     Those  who  conscientiously  scru 
ple  to  bear  arms  shall  not  be  compelled  to  do  so,  but  shall 
pay  an  equivalent  for  personal  service. 

29.  The  commanding  officers  of  the  respective   regi 
ments,  shall  appoint  the  regimental  staff;  brigadier-gene 
rals,  their  brigade-majors;  major-generals,  their  aids  ;  and 
captains,  the  non-commissioned  officers  of  companies. 

30.  A  majority  of  the  field-officers  and  captains  in  each 
regiment   shall   nominate   the   commissioned  officers   in 
each  company,  who  shall  be  commissioned  by  the   Go 
vernor  :  Provided,  that  no  nomination  shall  be  made,  un 
less  two  at  least  of  the   field-officers  are    present ;  and 
when  two  or  more  persons  have  an  equal  and  the  highest 
number  of  votes,  the  field-officer  present,  who    may  be 
highest   in  commission,  shall  decide   the  nomination. 

31.  Sheriffs  shall  hereafter  be  appointed  in  the  follow 
ing  manner :   when  the  time  of  a  sheriff  for  any  county 
may  be  about  to  expire,  the  county  court  for  the  same,  a 
majority   of  all  its  justices   being  present,  shall,  in  the 
months  of  September,  October,  or  November,  next  pre 
ceding  thereto,  recommend  to  the   Governor  two  proper 
persons  to  fill   the  office,  who  are  then  justices  of  the 
county  court;  and   who  shall  in  such  recommendation 
pay  a  just  regard  to  seniority  in  office  and  a  regular  rota 
tion.     One  of  the  persons  so  recommended  shall  be  com- 


CONSTITUTION  OF    KENTUCKY.  187 

missioned  by  the  Governor,  and  shall  hold  his  office  for 
two  years,  if  he  so  long  behave  well,  and  until  a  succes 
sor  be  duly  qualified.  If  the  county  courts  shall  omit,  in 
the  months  aforesaid,  to  make  such  recommendation,  the 
Governor  shall  then  nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  ad 
vice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  appoint  a  lit  person  to  fill 
such  office. 

ARTICLE  4. 
Concerning  the  Judicial  Department. 

SEC.  1.  The  judiciary  power  of  this  commonwealth, 
both  as  to  matters  of  law  and  equity,  shall  be  vested  in 
one  supreme  court,  which  shall  be  styled  the  court  of  ap 
peals,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the  general  Assembly 
may  from  time  to  time  erect  and  establish. 

2.  The  court  of  appeals,  except  in  cases  otherwise  di 
rected  by  this  Constitution,  shall  have  appellate  jurisdic 
tion  only  ;  which  shall  be  co-extensive  with  the  State,  un 
der  such  restrictions    and   regulations,  not  repugnant  to 
this  Constitution,  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  prescribed 
by  law. 

3.  The  judges,  both  of  the  supreme  and  inferior  courts, 
shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior;  but  for  any 
reasonable  cause  which  shall  not  be  sufficient  ground  of 
impeachment,  the  Governor  shall  remove  any  of  them  on 
the  address  of  two-thirds   of  each  House  of  the  general 
Assembly :  Provided,  however,  that  the  cause  or  causes 
for  which  such  removal  may  be  required,  shall  be  stated 
at  length  in  such   address,  and  on  the   journal   of  each 
House.     They  shall  at  stated  times  receive  for  their  ser 
vices  an  adequate  compensation  to  be  fixed  by  law. 

4.  The  judges  shall,  by  virtue  of  their  office,  be  con 
servators  of  the  peace  throughout  the  State.     The   style 
of  all  process   shall   be,    "  the   commonwealth   of  Ken 
tucky."     All   prosecutions  shall   be   carried    on   in    the 
name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  commonwealth  of  Ken 
tucky,  and  conclude,  against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the 
same. 

5.  There  shall  be  established  in  each  county,  now,  or 
which  may  hereafter  be  erected,   within  this  common 
wealth,  a  county  court. 


133  CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY. 

6.  A  competent  number  of  justices  of  the   peace  shall 
be  appointed  in  each  county ;  they  shall  be  commission 
ed  during"  good  behavior,  but  may  be  removed  on  convic 
tion  of  misbehavior  in  office,  or  of  any  infamous  crime, 
or  on  the  address  of  two-thirds  of  each  House  of  the  gene 
ral    Assembly :  Provided,    however,    that   the   cause   or 
causes  for  which  such  removal  may  be  required,  shall  be 
stated  at  length  in  such  address,   on  the  journal   of  each 
House. 

7.  The  number  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  to  which 
the  several  counties  in  this  commonwealth  now  establish 
ed,  or  which   may  hereafter  be  established,  ought  to  be 
entitled,  shall,  from  time  to  time,  be  regulated  by  law. 

8.  When  a  surveyor,  coroner,  or  justice  of  the  peace 
shall  be  needed  in  any  county,  the  county  court  for  the 
same,  a  majority  of  all   the  justices  concurring  therein, 
shall  recommend  to  the  Governor  two  proper  persons  to 
fill   the  office,  one  of  whom  he   shall    appoint   thereto  : 
Provided,  however,  that   if  the    county   court   shall   for 
twelve  months  omit  to  make  such  recommendation,  after 
being  requested  by  the   Governor  to  recommend  proper 
persons,  he  shall  then  nominate,  and,  by  and  with  the  ad 
vice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  appoint  a  fit  person  to  fill 
such  office. 

9.  When  a  new  county  shall  be  erected,  a  competent 
number  of  justices  of  the  peace,  a  sheriff,  and  coroner 
therefor,  shall  be  recommended  to  the  Governor  by  a  ma 
jority  of  all  the  members  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  from  the  senatorial  district  or  districts  in  which  the 
county  is  situated  ;  and  if  either  of  the   persons   thus  re 
commended  shall  be  rejected  by  the   Governor  or  the 
Senate,  another  person  shall  immediately  be  recommend 
ed  as  aforesaid. 

10.  Each  court  shall  appoint  its  own  clerk,  who  shall 
hold  his  office  during  good  behavior;  but  no  person  shall 
be  appointed  clerk,  only  pro  tempore,  who  shall  not  pro 
duce  to  the  court  appointing  him,  a  certificate  from  a  ma 
jority  of  the  judges  of  the   court  of  appeals  that  he  had 
been  examined  by  their  clerk  in  their  presence,  and  un 
der  their  direction,  and  that  they  judge  him  to  be  well 
qualified  to  execute  the  office  of  clerk  of  any  court  of  the 


CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY.  189 

same  dignity  with  that  for  which  he  offers  himself.  They 
shall  be  removable  for  breach  of  good  behavior,  by  the 
court  of  appeal  only,  who  shall  be  judges  of  the  fact  as 
well  as  of  the  law.  Two-thirds  of  the  members  present 
must  concur  in  the  sentence. 

11.  All  commissions  shall  be  in  the  name,  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  State  of  Kentucky,  and  sealed  with  the 
state  seal,  and  signed  by  the  Governor. 

12.  The  state  treasurer,  and  printer  or  printers,  for  the 
commonwealth,  shall  be  appointed  annually  by  the  joint 
vote  of  both  Houses  of  the  general  Assembly  :  Provided, 
that,   during  the  recess  of  the  same,  the  Governor  shall 
have  power  to  fill  vacancies  which  may  happen  in  either 
of  the  said  offices. 

ARTICLE  5. 

Concerning  Impeachments. 

SEC.  1.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  have  the 
sole  power  of  impeaching. 

2.  All  impeachments  shall  be  tried  by  the    Senate  ; 
when  sitting  for  that  purpose,  the  senators  shall  be  upon 
oath  or  affirmation  :  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without 
the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

3.  The  Governor  and  all  civil  officers  shall  be  liable  to 
impeachment  for  any  misdemeanor  in  office  ;  but  judge 
ment,  in  such  cases,  shall  not  extend  further  than  to  re 
moval  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  any  office 
of  honor,  trust,  or  profit,  under  this  commonwealth  ;  but 
the  party  convicted  shall  nevertheless  be  liable  and  sub 
ject  to  indictment,  trial,   and  punishment,  according  to 
law. 

ARTICLE  6. 
General  Provisions. 

SEC.  1.  Members  of  the  general  Assembly  and  all  offi 
cers,  executive  and  judicial,  before  they  enter  upon  the 
execution  of  their  respecfive  offices,  shall  take  the  follow 
ing  oath  or  affirmation  "  I  do  solemnly  swear,  (or  af 
firm,  as  the  case  may  be,  that  I  will  be  faithful  and  true 
to  the  commonwealth  of  1L  intuckv,  so  lon^  as  I  continue 


190  CONSTITUTION  OF    KENTUCKY. 

a  citizen  thereof,  and  that  I  will  faithfully  execute,  to  the 

best  of  my  abilities,  the  office  of ,  according  to 

law." 

2.  Treason  against  the  commonwealth  shall    consist 
only  in  levying  war  against  it,  or  in  adhering  to  its  ene 
mies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort.      No  person  shall  be 
convicted  of  treason,  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  wit 
nesses   to  the  same  overt  act,   or  his  own  confession  in 
open  court. 

3.  Every  person  shall  be  disqualified  from  serving  as 
a  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  Senator,  or  Represen 
tative,  for  the  term  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected, 
who  shall  be  convicted  of  having  given  or  offered  any 
bribe  or  treat  to  procure  his  election. 

4.  Laws  shall  be  made  to  exclude  horn  office,   and 
from  suffrage,  those  who  shall  thereafter  be  convicted  of 
bribery,  perjury,  forgery,  or  other  high  crimes  and  mis 
demeanors.     The  privilege  of  free  suffrage  shall  be  sup 
ported  bylaws  regulating  elections,  and  prohibiting,  under 
adequate    penalties,   all    undue  influence  thereon,  from 
power,  bribery,  tumult,  or  other  improper  practices. 

5.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in 
pursuance  of  appropriations  made  by  law,  nor  shall  any 
appropriations  of  money,  for  the  support  of  an  army,  be 
made   for  a  longer  time   than  one  year ;  and  a  regular 
statement  and  account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of 
all  public  money  shall  be  published  annually 

6.  The  general  Assembly  shall  direct  by  law  in  what 
manner,  and  in  what  courts,  suits  may  be  brought  against 
the  commonwealth. 

7.  The  manner  of  administering  an  oath  or  affirmation 
shall  be  such  as  is  most  consistent  with  the  conscience  of 
the  deponent,   and  shall  be  esteemed  by  the  general  As 
sembly  the  most  solemn  appeal  to  God. 

8.  All  laws  which,  on  the  first  day  of  June,  one  thou 
sand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-two,  were  in  force  in  the 
State  of  Virginia,  and  which  are  of  a  general  nature,  and 
not  local  to  that  State,  and  not  repugnant  to  this  Consti 
tution,  nor  to  the  laws  which  have  been  enacted  by  the 
legislature  of  this  commonwealth,  shall  be  in  force  within 
this  State,  until  they  shall  be  altered  or  repealed  by  the 
gmeral  Assembly. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY.  191 

9.  The  compact  with  the  State  of  Virginia,  subject  to 
such  alterations  as  may  be  made  therein,  agreeably  to  the 
mode  prescribed  by  the  said  compact,  shall  be  considered 
as  part  of  this  Constitution. 

10.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  general  Assembly  to 
pass  such  laws  as  may  be  necessary  and  proper  to  decide 
differences  by  arbitrators,  to  be  appointed  by  the  parties 
who  ma.y  choose  that  summary  mode  of  adjustment. 

11.  All  civil  officers  for  the  commonwealth   at  large 
shall   reside   within  the  State,  and  all  district,  county,  or 
town  officers,  within  their  respective  districts,  counties,  or 
towns,  (trustees  of  towns  excepted,)  and  shall  keep  their 
respective  offices  at  such  places   therein  as  may  be  re 
quired  by  law:  and  all  militia  officers  shall  reside  in  the 
bounds  of  the  division,  brigade,   regiment,  battalion,  or 
company,  to  which  they  may  severally  belong. 

12.  The  attorney-general,  and  other  attorneys  for  this 
commonwealth,  who  receive   a  fixed  annual  salary  from 
the  public  treasury,  judges,  and  clerks  of  courts,  justices 
of  the   peace,  surveyors   of  lands,  and  all  commissioned 
militia  officers,   shall  hold  their  respective  offices  during 
good   behavior,   and  the  continuance  of  their  respective 
courts,  under  the  exceptions,  contained  in  this  Constitution. 

13.  'Absence  on  the  business  of  this   State,    or    the 
United  States,  shall  not  forfeit  a  residence  once  obtained, 
so  as   to  deprive  any  one  of  the  right  of  suffrage,  or  of 
being  elected  or  appointed  to  any  office  under  this  com 
monwealth,   under  the  exceptions  contained  in  this  Con 
stitution. 

14.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  general  Assembly  to  re 
gulate  by  law,  in  what  cases  and  what  deduction  from  the 
salaries  of  public  officers  shall  be  made  for  neglect  of  dutv 
in  their  official  capacity. 

15.  Returns  of  all  elections  for  Governor,  Lieu  tenant- 
Governor,  and  members  of  the  general  Assembly,  shall  be 
made  to  the  Secretary,  for  the  time  being. 

16.  In  all  elections  by  the  people,  and  also  by  the  Se 
nate  and  House  of  Representatives,  jointly  or  separately, 
tne  votes  shall  be  personally  and  publicly  given,  viva  voce. 

17.  No  member  of  Congress,  nor  person  holding  or  ex 
ercising  any  office  of  trust,  or  profit,  under  the  United 


192  CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY. 

States,  or  either  of  them,  or  under  any  foreign  power, 
shall  be  eligible  as  a  member  of  the  general  Assembly  of 
this  commonwealth,  or  hold  or  exercise  any  office  of  trust, 
or  profit,  under  the  same. 

18.  The  general  Assembly  shall  direct  by  law  how 
persons  who  now  are,  or  may  hereafter  become,  securi 
ties  for  public  officers,  may  be  relieved  or  discharged  on 
account  of  such  securityship. 

ARTICLE  7. 
Concerning  Slaves. 

SEC.  1.  The  general  Assembly  shall  have  no  power  to 
pass  laws  for  the  emancipation  of  slaves  without  the  con 
sent  of  their  owners,  or  without  paying  their  owners,  pre 
vious  to  such  emancipation,  a  full  equivalent  in  money  for  the 
slaves  so  emancipated.  They  shall  have  no  power  to 
prevent  emigrants  to  this  State  from  bringing  with  them 
such  persons  as  are  deemed  slaves  by  the  laws  of  any  of  the 
United  States,  so  long  as  any  person  of  the  same  age  or  de 
scription  shall  be  continued  in  slavery  by  the  laws  of  this 
State.  They  shall  pass  laws  to  permit  the  owners  of 
slaves  to  emancipate  them,  saving  the  rights  of  creditors, 
and  preventing  them  from  becoming  a  charge  to  any 
county  in  this  commonwealth.  They  shall  have  full 
power  to  prevent  slaves  being  brought  into  this  State  as 
merchandise.  They  shall  have  full  power  to  prevent  any 
slaves  being  brought  into  this  State,  who  have  been,  since 
the  first  day  of  January,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-nine,  or  may  hereafter  be,  imported  into  any  of  the 
United  States,  from  a  foreign  country.  And  they  shall 
have  full  power  to  pass  such  laws  as  may  be  necessary 
to  oblige  the  owners  of  slaves  to  treat  them  with  humani 
ty,  to  provide  for  them  necessary  clothing  and  provision, 
to  abstain  from  all  injuries  to  them  extending  to  life,  or 
limb,  and  in  case  of  their  neglect  or  refusal  to  comply 
with  the  directions  of  such  laws,  to  have  such  slave  or 
slaves  sold  for  the  benefit  of  their  owner  or  owners. 

2.  In  the  prosecution  of  slaves  for  felony,  no  inquest  by 
a  grand  iury  shall  be  necessary,  but  the  proceedings  in 


CONSTITUTION  OF  KKNTUCKY.  l'J3 

such  prosecutions  shall  be  regulated  by  law  :  except  that 
the  general  Assembly  shall  have  no  power  to  deprive 
them  of  the  privilege  of  an  impartial  trial  by  a  petit  jury. 

ARTICLE  8. 

SEC.  1.  The  seat  of  government  shall  continue  in  the 
town  of  Frankfort,  until  it  shall  be  removed  by  law  : 
Provided,  however,  that  two-thirds  of  all  the  members 
elected  to  each  House  of  the  general  Assembly  shall  con 
cur  in  the  passage  of  such  law. 

ARTICLE  9. 
Mode  of  Revising  the  Constitution. 

SEC.  1.  When  experience  shall  point  out  the  necessity 
of  amending  th;s  Constitution,  and  when  a  majority  of  all 
the  members  elected  to  each  House  of  the  general  As 
sembly  shall,  within  the  first  twenty  days  of  their  stated 
annual  session,  concur  in  passing  a  law,  specifying  the  al 
terations  intended  to  be  made,  for  taking  the  sense  of  the 
good  people  of  this  State,  as  to  the  necessity  and  expe 
diency  of  calling  a  Convention,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
several  sheriffs,  and  other  returning  officers,  at  the  next 
general  election  which  shall  be  held  for  representatives 
after  the  passage  of  such  law  to  open  a  poll  for,  and 
make  return  to  the  secretary,  for  the  time  being,  of  the 
names  of  all  those  entitled  to  vote  for  representatives, 
who  have  voted  for  calling  a  Convention ;  and  if  there 
upon  it  shall  appear  that  a  majority  of  all  the  citizens  of 
this  State  entitled  to  vote  for  representatives  have  voted 
for  a  Convention,  the  general  Assembly  shall  direct  that 
a  similar  poll  shall  be  opened  and  taken  for  the  nextyear; 
and  if  thereupon  it  shall  appear  that  a  majority  of  all  the 
citizens  of  this  State  entitled  to  vote  for  representatives 
have  voted  for  a  Convention,  the  general  Assembly  shall, 
at  their  next  session,  call  a  Convention,  to  consist  of  as 
many  members  as  there  shall  be  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  and  no  more  ;  to  be  chosen  in  the  same  man 
ner  and  proportion,  at  the  same  places,  and  at  the  same 
time,  that  representatives  are,  by  citizens  entitled  to  vote 
for  representatives  ;  and  to  meet  within  three  months  after 
17 


194  CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY, 

the  said  election,  for  the  purpose  of  re-adopting,  amending 
or  changing  this  Constitution.  But  if  it  shall  appear,  by 
the  vote  of  either  year,  as  aforesaid,  that  a  majority  of  all 
the  citizens  entitled  to  vote  for  representatives  did  not 
vote  for  a  Convention,  a  Convention  shall  not  be  called. 

ARTICLE  10. 

That  the  general,  great,  and  essential  principles  of  lib 
erty  and  free  government  may  be  recognized  and  esta 
blished,  we  declare : 

SEC.  1.  That  all  free  men,  when  they  form  a  social 
compact,  are  equal ;  and  that  no  man  or  set  of  men  are 
entitled  to  exclusive,  separate,  public  emoluments  or  pri 
vileges,  from  the  community,  but  in  consideration  of  pub 
lic  services. 

2.  That  all  power  is  inherent  in  the  people,  and  all 
free  governments  are  founded  on  their  authority,  and  in 
stituted  for  their  peace,  safety   and  happiness  :  For  the 
advancement  of  these  ends,  they  have  at  all  times  an  un- 
alienable  and  indefeasible  right  to  alter,  reform,  or  abolish 
their  government,  in  such  manner  as  they  may  think  pro 
per. 

3.  That  all  men  have  a  natural  and  indefeasible  right 
to  worship  Almighty  God,    according   to  the  dictates  of 
their  own  consciences  ;  that  no  man  shall  be  compelled 
to  attend,  erect,  or  support  any  place  of  worship,  or  to 
maintain  any  ministry  against  his   consent ;  that  no  hu 
man  authority  ought,  in  any  case  whatever,  to  control  or 
interfere  with  the  rights  of  conscience  ;  and  that  no  pre 
ference  shall  ever  be  given  by  law  to  any  religious  socie 
ties  or  modes  of  worship. 

4.  That  the  civil  rights,  privileges,  or  capacities  of  any 
citizen  shall  in  no  wise  be  diminished  or  enlarged  on  ac 
count  of  his  religion. 

5.  That  all  elections  shall  be  free  and  equal. 

6.  That  the  ancient  mode  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  held 
sacred,  and  the  right  thereof  remain  inviolate. 

7.  That  printing  presses  shall  be  free  to  every  person 
who  undertakes  to  examine  the  proceedings  of  the  legis- 
latu  re  or  any  branch  of  government ;  and  no  law  shall 
ever  be  made  to  restrain  the  rijrht  thereof.    The  free  com* 


CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY.  1<15 

municatioti  of  thoughts  and  opinions  is  one  of  the  invalua 
hie  rights  of  man,  and  every  citizen   may  freely  speak, 
write,   and   print,  on  any  subject,  being  responsible  for 
the  abuse  of  that  liberty. 

8.  In  prosecutions  for  the  publication  of  papers  inves 
tigating  the  official  conduct  of  officers,  or  men  in  a  pub 
lic  capacity,  or  where  the  matter  published  is  proper  for 
public  information,  the  truth  thereof  may  be  given  in  evi 
dence.     And  in  all  indictments  for  libels,  the  jury  shall 
have  a  right  to  determine  the  law  and  the  facts,  under  the 
direction  of  the  court,  as  in  other  cases. 

9.  That  the  people  shall  be  secure  in  their  persons, 
houses,    papsrs,    and    possessions,    from    unreasonable 
seizures  and  searches ;  and  that  no  warrant  to  search  any 
place  or  to  seize  any  person  or  thing,  shall  issue  without 
describing  them  as  nearly  as   may  be,  nor  without  proba 
ble  cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation. 

10.  That  in  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  hath 
a  right  to  be  heard  by  himself  and  counsel:  to  demand 
the  nature  and  cause   of  the  accusation  against  him  :  to 
meet  the  witnesses  face  to  face:  to  have  compulsory  pro 
cess  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor  :  and,  in   prose 
cutions  by  indictment   or  information,  a  speedy   public 
trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  vicinage  ;  that  he  cannot 
be  compelled  to  give  evidence  against  himself,  nor  can  he 
be  deprived  of  his  life,  liberty,  or  property,  unless  by  the 
judgment  of  his  peers,  or  the  law  of  the  land. 

11.  That  no  person  shall,  for  any  indictable  offence, 
be  proceeded  against  criminally  by  information,  except  in 
cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  the  militia, 
when  in  actual  service,  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger, 
by  leave  of  the  court,  for  oppression  or  misdemeanor  in 
office. 

12.  No  person  shall,  for  the  same   offence,  be  twice 
put  in  jeopardy  of  his  life  or  limb,  nor  shall  any  man's 
property  be  taken  or  applied  to  public  use   without  the 
consent  of  his  representatives,  and  without  just  compen 
sation  being  previously  made  to  him. 

13.  That  all  courts  shall  be  open,  and  every  person  for 
any  injury  done  him  in  his  lands,  goods,  person,  or  re- 


I'JO  CONSTITUTION  OF   KENTUCKY. 

putation,  shall  have  remedy  by  the  clue  course  of  law  ; 
and  right  and  justice  administered  without  sale,  denial,  or 
delay. 

14.  That  no  power  of  suspending  laws  shall  be  exer 
cised,  unless  by  the  legislature  or  its  authority. 

15.  That  excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  ex 
cessive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  punishments  inflicted. 

16.  That  all  prisoners  shall  be  bailable  by  sufficient  se 
curities,  unless  for  capital  offences,  when  the  proof  is  evi 
dent,  or  presumption  great ;  and  the  privilege  of  the  writ 
of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended,  unless  when  in 
cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion   the  public  safety  may  re 
quire  it. 

17.  That  the  person   of  a  debtor,  where  there  is  not 
strong  presumption  of  fraud,  shall  not  be  continued  in  pri 
son  after  delivering  up  his  estate   for  the   benefit  of  his 
creditors,  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  law. 

18.  That  no  ex  post  facto  law,  nor  any  law  impairing 
contracts,  shall  be  made. 

19.  That  no  person  shall  be  attainted  of  treason  or  felo 
ny  by  the  legislature. 

20.  That  no  attainder  shall  work  corruption  of  bloo'l, 
nor,  except  during  the  life  of  the  offender,  forfeiture  of 
estate  to  the  commonwealth. 

21.  That  the  estates  of  such  persons  as  shall  destroy 
their  own  lives,  shall  descend  or  vest  as  in  case  of  natural 
death ;  and  if  any  person   shall  be  killed  by   casualty, 
there  shall  be  no  forfeiture  by  reason  thereof. 

22.  That  the  citizens  have  a  right  in  a  peaceable  man 
ner  to  assemble  together  for  their  common   good,  and  to 
apply  to  those  invested  with  the  powers  of  government 
for  redress  of  grievances  or  other  proper  purposes,  by  pe 
tition,  address,  or  remonstrance. 

23.  That  the  rights  of  the  citizens  to  bear  arms  in  de 
fence  of  themselves  and  the  State  shall  not  be  questioned. 

24.  That  no  standing  army  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be 
kept  up,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislature  ;  and  the 
military  shall,  in  all  cases  and  at  all  times,  be  in  strict 
subordination  to  the  civil  power. 

25.  That  no  soldier  shall  in  time  of  peace,  be  quarter 
ed  in  any  House  without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor 
In  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  laws- 


CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY.  197 

26.  That  the  legislature  shall  not  grant  any  title  of  no 
bility,  or  hereditary  distinction,  nor  create  any  office,  the 
appointment  to  which  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  du 
ring  good  behavior. 

27.  That  emigration  from  this  State  shall  not  be  pro 
hibited. 

28.  To  guard  against  transgressions  of  the  high  pow 
ers    which    we  have  delegated,   we    declare,  that  every 
thing  in  this  article  is  excepted  out  of  the  general  powers 
of  government,  and  shall  for  ever  remain   inviolate  ;  and 
that  all  laws  contrary  thereto,  or  contrary  to  this  Consti 
tution,  shall  be  void. 

SCHEDULE. 

That  no  inconvenience  may  arise  from  the  alterations 
and  amendments  made  in  the  Constitution  of  this  com 
monwealth,  and  in  order  to  carry  the  same  into  complete 
operation,  it  is  hereby  declared  and  ordained  : 

SEC.  1.  That  all  laws  of  this  commonwealth,  in  force 
at  the  time  of  making  the  said  alterations  and  amend 
ments,  and  not  inconsistent  therewith,  and  all  rights,  ac 
tions,  prosecutions,  claims,  and  contracts,  as  well  of  in 
dividuals  as  of  bodies  corporate,  shall  continue  as  if  the 
said  alterations  and  amendments  had  not  been  made. 

2.  That  all  officers  now  rilling  any  office  or  appoint 
ment,  shall  continue  in  the  exercise  of  the  duties  of  their 
respective  offices  or  appointments  for   the  terms  therein 
expressed,  unless  by  this  Constitution  it  is  otherwise  di 
rected. 

3.  The  oaths  of  office  herein  directed  to  be  taken,  may 
be  administered   by  any  justice  of  the   peace,  until  the 
legislature  shall  otherwise  direct. 

4.  The  general  Assembly,  to  be  held  in  November  next, 
shall  apportion  the  representatives  and  senators,  and  lay 
off  the  State  into  senatorial  districts  conformable  to  the 
regulations   prescribed  by   this    Constitution.     In  fixing 
those  apportionments,  and  in  establishing  those  districts 
they  shall  take   for  their  guide  the  enumeration  directe; 
by  law  to  be  made  in  the  present  year,  by  the  commis 
sioners  ofjthe  tax,  and  the  apportionments  thus  made  sha 


198  CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY. 

remain  unaltered  until  the  end  of  the  stated  annual  session 
of  the  general  Assembly  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred 
and  three. 

5.  In  order  that  no  inconvenience  may  arise  from  the 
change  made  by  this  Constitution  in  the  time  of  holding 
the  general  election,  it  is  hereby  ordained  that  the  first 
election  for  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  members 
of  the  general  Assembly,   shall  commence  on    the  first 
Monday  in    May,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred.     The 
persons  then  elected  shall  continue  in  office  during  the 
several  terms  of  service  prescribed  by  this   Constitution, 
and  until  the  next  general  election  which  shall  be   held 
after  the  said  terms  shall  have  respectively  expired.     The 
returns  for  the  said   first  election  of  Governor  and  Lieu 
tenant-Governor  shall  be  made  to  the  secretary,  within 
fifteen  days  from  the  day  of  election,  who  shall,  as  soon 
as  may  be,  examine  and  count  the  same,  in  the  presence 
of  at  least  two  judges  of  the  court  of  appeals,  or  district 
courts,  and  shall   declare  who   are  the  persons  thereby 
duly  elected,  and  give  them  official  notice  of  their  election  ; 
and  if  any  person  shall  be  equal  and  highest  on  the  poll, 
the  said  judges  and  secretary  shall  determine  the  election 
by  lot. 

6.  This    Constitution,   except  so  much   thereof  as  is 
therein  directed,  shall  not  be  in  force  until  the  first  day 
of  June,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  ;  on  which  day  the 
whole  thereof  shall  take  full  and  complete  effect. 

Done  in  Convention,  at  Frankfort,  the  seventeenth  day 
of  August,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States 
of  America  the  twenty-fourth. 

ALEXANDER  S.  BULLIT,  P.  C. 


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THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


